Richard Downey Royston

Richard Downey Royston, 81, passed away on Sunday, January 4, 2015 after a long battle with cancer. Born in Pittsburgh, PA, he was a graduate of Shady Side Academy, a member of the class of 1955 at Trinity College in Hartford, CT, and a member of Alpha Delta Phi fraternity.

He was a Captain in the United States Air Force where he was a pilot and instructor of single-engine jets. He founded Education Management Corporation, which started a number of schools across the country, most notably the Art Institutes and the National Centers for Paralegal Training.

An avid boater and fisherman, he spent countless hours enjoying time on the water with his family and friends. He will be remembered for his incredible creativity, strong work ethic, generosity, joyfulness, and loyalty. And he will be greatly missed, especially by his wife Gail, his children Ty, Leslie Rocco (Frank), Jane Gwaltney (John), and Rick (Margaret), and his eleven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

If you wish to make a charitable donation in his memory, please do so to one of your choice. He was especially fond of the Wounded Warrior Project (www.woundedwarriorproject.org, Wounded Warrior, PO Box 758517, Topeka, KS, 66675).

A memorial service will be held at 4:00 o'clock on Friday January 9, 2015 at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead in Atlanta, GA. Online condolences may be made at hmpattersonspringhill.com