G. Richard Handrick

G RICHARD HANDRICK passed away Thursday, February 18, 2010 at his home in Lexington, MA. Dick was born January 1, 1917, in Johnson City, NY, son of the late Rilla Mae Gage and John Bradshaw Handrick. After earning a BChem in organic chemistry from Cornell University in 1937, he went to the University of Illinois for his PhD, “where the best organic chemistry department was”. He met his future wife, Fannie Mae Armitt, while doing post doctoral work at the University of Pennsylvania where she was a graduate student. They were married on April 30, 1943. After retiring from Arthur D. Little, Inc. of Cambridge, MA, he returned to work at SHARPS Associates (later SISA, Inc.), a small research firm in Cambridge founded by some of his coworkers at ADL, to continue his work on the synthesis of tetrahydrocannabinol and its derivatives for medicinal uses.

In the second half of his life, genealogy was his passion. As historian for the Stone reunion, he researched his ancestry and published Descendants of Canfield and Mary (Platt) Stone of New Preston, Connecticut, which nearly completed the family tree and to which he continued to add until his death.

Dick’s meticulous nature served him well throughout his lifetime.

Dick is survived by his two children, Betty (James) Baldwin of Freeville, NY, and David (Barbara) Handrick of Stow, MA. Also surviving are grandsons Sam and Tom Handrick of Stow, MA, sisters Ruth Furman and Jane Austin of Johnson City, NY, and his extended Stone family. He was predeceased by his wife, Fannie, in 2004 and a brother, Jack.

Dick loved life and family. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

Private services and burial will be in Stone Street Cemetery, Montrose, PA, at the convenience of the family. There are no calling hours. Those wishing to remember Dick are asked to consider a memorial, in lieu of flowers, to the Stone Reunion, c/o Dawn Zalewski, RR5, Box 130A, Montrose, PA 18801.

Perkins Funeral Home, Dryden, NY, is assisting the family. www.perkinsfuneralhome.com