Newington Obituary: Richard Terry, 82

Richard Terry, 82, of Newington, died at home on December 23, 2016. Richard was the loving and beloved husband of Edythe (Somerville) Terry and the father of one daughter, Jennifer.

Born in Mecklenburg County, VA, he was a Newington resident for the past 42 years and a member of Emmanuel Baptist Church, Newington. Mr. Terry worked as an aircraft machinist in the Research & Development department at Pratt & Whitney, East Hartford for more than 30 years. This career allowed him to use his natural talent for design as he created prototype engine parts for new aircraft engines under development. Richard became friends with many of his professional colleagues.

From childhood to the end, Richard enjoyed close relationships with his many siblings. These are James ("Jimmy"), John ("Johnny"), Elrich ("Dick"), Frederick ("Fred"), Salina, Bessie, and Celbrough ("Cee"). Additionally, he was a fun and beloved uncle and cousin to a bevy of other relatives.

Mr. Terry loved to travel. As a child, Richard imagined taking trips to places on the maps in an atlas given to him by his older brothers. His stint in the U.S. Air Force enabled Mr. Terry to live in places far from his native Virginia like Montana, California, and Japan.

As a father, Papa Terry, as he was nicknamed by his daughter, imparted his love of travel by teaching her to navigate based on maps, direction, landmarks, and instinct when she was eight. When she attained adulthood, she enjoyed playing the tour guide for her parents when they visited her in London, UK and taking many road-trips with her father, enabling him to see some of the places he imagined going as a child.

Mr. Terry was kind, generous, straight-forward, and pragmatic. Richard happily shared his hard-earned knowledge with family, friends, and acquaintances.

Relatives and friends are invited to call on Saturday, Dec. 31, 2016, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the Newington Memorial Funeral Home, 20 Bonair Ave., Newington. The funeral service celebrating his life will follow at 10:30 a.m. with Rev. Derrick Williams officiating. He will be laid to rest in West Meadow Cemetery, Newington.

Memorial donations may be made to the Leukemia Research Foundation - http://www.allbloodcancers.org.