Richard G. Maynard (“Dick”) of Harrison, Maine passed away peacefully at home on Dec. 28, 2019, surrounded by his family. He and his wife Susan Dovell retired to Harrison just six years ago from Falls Church and quickly found a wonderful community in the Lakes Region which is in the foothills of the White Mountains. In his time in Maine, Dick was active in the Harrison Lions Club, where he headed up their eyeglass program, served on the board of the Harrison Food Bank and was a business mentor for SCORE.
Dick was born in Windsor, Vermont, and grew up in the village of Perkinsville, Vermont. He graduated from Springfield High School in 1958. He was a leader from early on, active in the Boy Scouts, attaining his Eagle Scout badge, and inducted into the Order of the Arrow.
He attended Dartmouth College, graduating in 1962 with a degree in government and economics, and subsequently joined the Army. He achieved the rank of 1st Lieutenant, Infantry, and completed Airborne Ranger Training. He served in the DMZ in South Korea. Following his army service, Dick traveled to Brazil to study for a year. He enrolled in the University of Sao Paulo, simultaneously learning Portuguese and taking classes. From Brazil, he enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania, earning a master’s degree in Economics.
Dick moved to the Washington, D.C area in the late 1960’s, where he spent his career until retiring to Maine. He worked for and on behalf of the federal government in a wide variety of capacities. He was involved in the early days of computer technology for economic analysis, in the era of the mainframe computer. While working for the U.S House of Representatives, House Information Systems, he pioneered the use of computer modeling and computer graphics in policy analysis. He was always interested in how best to communicate information through technology for better decision making, the connecting thread throughout his career. He worked with the World Computer Graphics Association and was a member of the World Future Society for many years. In his later career, he worked for Booz Allen Hamilton and General Dynamics as a management consultant.
While living in Falls Church, Dick served for eight years as an officer of the Citizens for a Better City. He was also a passionate supporter of his daughters’ academic and athletic pursuits while they were in Falls Church schools. Dick was happiest being outdoors, whether working in his garden and woods, bushwhacking to find new fishing spots on his favorite trout streams, kayaking, hiking in the White Mountains of New Hampshire or the Shenandoah Mountains of Virginia, cross-country skiing or snowshoeing.
He took each of his daughters and his wife on memorable trips to teach each one to fish; and cheered his daughters on each summer when they hiked ever higher mountains in New Hampshire.
Dick is survived by his wife of 43 years, Susan Dovell, whom he met when they both worked on Capitol Hill in D.C.; daughters Kelly Maynard (husband Josh Brown and son Evan), and Anne Hancock (husband Brian and son Bodhi), both of Madison, Wisconsin; sister Marion Smith of Bar Harbor, Maine; and sister Kathaleen Giurtino of Chester, Vermont.
Dick had wanted an 80th birthday party so his family will honor those wishes with a memorial service and party at the First Congregational Church in Bridgton, ME on January 25th at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Harrison Food Bank, P.O Box 112, Harrison, Maine 04040. Online condolences may be shared with his family at www.chandlerfunerals.com
