Obituary: Richard Blackwell, Supporter of the Woodbridge Town Library

The staff of the Woodbridge Town Library, the Woodbridge Library Commission and the Friends of the Woodbridge Town Library are deeply saddened by the passing of our friend and supporter, Dick Blackwell. He was a kind, generous man with contagious enthusiasm. Dick loved Woodbridge and he loved its library. He was always eager to use his energy, expertise and resources to further the library’s mission to provide excellent collections, programs, and services to our community.   

Dick joined the Library Commission in 2021, and he immediately brought his usual vitality into its proceedings.  He formed a new Public Relations Committee, which he also chaired, because he believed that the more people knew about the library, the more they would be drawn into its wonderful collections and services. Through this Committee, he spearheaded several projects, including the gifting of tote bags filled with information about the library and the Friends to the Beecher Road School staff to increase their awareness of what the library offers.

Dick also came to work extremely closely with the Friends of the Library. The Friends have a team of high school volunteers and Dick’s enthusiasm for empowering young people led him to set up a scholarship fund for those volunteers that are graduating from Amity High School. Dick met with several of the volunteers, peppering them with questions, and, each time, he came away delighted with his interaction.

In addition, Dick was fascinated by the history of Woodbridge and the surrounding area, and so he championed the creation of an interactive, digitized display of this history using primary source materials. Dick intended to engage the Friends’ student volunteers as assistants in this project, fostering their interest in local history. This project was beginning to take shape when Dick passed away and we hope to continue to move forward with it in his honor. 

We extend our deep condolences to Dick Blackwell’s family and friends. We will miss his passion, optimism, and friendship.