Richard grew up in the Frog Pond area of Stanly County, but graduated from Albemarle High School in 1959. He spent most of his career at Hoechst Celanese Corporation in Salisbury in maintenance, safety and environmental engineering. In 1996 he took early retirement and he and his wife Joyce served as Volunteers in Mission through the Presbyterian Church in Zambia for 3 plus years. Later Richard and Joyce spent 3 years as volunteers at Warren-Wilson College in Swannanoa, NC.
While in the Asheville area, Richard became interested in the clay products produced in that area and took his first classes at A-B Tech. After he returned to Stanly County, he completed the pottery diploma program at Montgomery Community College. He still participates in the continuing education programs at MCC.
Richard is a member of the Stanly Arts Guild and exhibits his pottery for sale in the Guild store.
Richard and Joyce live in Albemarle and participate in local activities. They received the Main Street Champions Award in 2021 for their volunteer work with the Albemarle Downtown Development Design Committee.
