Dear Classmates, members of the ’72 Class Council and other Yale friends,

I am saddened to inform you that I just learned of the passing this past Saturday of my dear friend and our fellow ’72 class council member, Richard Schwartz.

I have known Richard since our freshman year – we were in French class together – and we always enjoyed meeting each other at Yale events from time to time and reminiscing, sometimes in halting French, about our college days. Richard was a devoted, long-time volunteer for Yale and our class and I had even spoken to him recently about undertaking another volunteer assignment. At various points, Richard was our Class Secretary and a Class Agent – he was a good fund raiser for Yale – and he had been a member of the Class Council as long as I can remember. Richard was also very proud of serving as the music critic of the Yale Daily News and as a member of the Yale Orchestra. After graduation, Richard had the honor of being selected as a Mellon Fellow at Clare College, Cambridge. We are profoundly grateful for Richard’s extraordinary record of service to the Class of ’72 and Yale.

Wendy, Richard’s widow, has given me permission to send her email if you would like to express your condolences to her and the family. You may reach Wendy at winrs@rcn.com

This is the link to the New York Times obituary I received from Yale College which lists charities to which you may wish to contribute in Richard’s memory.

May our fond memories of our dear friend and classmate, Richard Schwartz, bring us some comfort during the days ahead and, on behalf of the Yale Class of 1972, I extend our deepest condolences to Wendy, his sons Isaac and Noah and the rest of his family.

Respectfully,