Richard A. Gontin

Rick was one of those rare people who had so many gifts that he shared with the world. His first focus was on being a deeply loving and devoted husband, father, grandfather, brother, cousin, uncle, and friend. He had great passion for his family and always had an open heart and open mind. Throughout his life, so many people came to him with concerns as well as with joyful news and he would sit and listen, ask questions and respond in calm and supportive ways, never judgmental and always with respect. He often would say that out of his very many happy years, perhaps five of his happiest years were when he coached Little League baseball. He loved the time he spent with his son Nick and all the boys on the teams, sharing his love of the sport and teaching them the importance of teamwork and good sportsmanship. Of course, he revised his definition of the happiest years once his grandson Brady was born. He so rejoiced in watching Nick as a father and spending time with Brady. Until the day he died, he looked forward to every Wednesday when Brady would come.

Rick and Mary Ann met in 1972 and were married in 1976. They lived a life together that encompassed many people, but their focus was always grounded in each other. They met when they were young and grew together in many ways. Rick greatly supported Mary Ann’s career as she did his. Their biggest goal and greatest joy were to become parents and the love they had for each other was multiplied many times over once Nick was born. Rick was profoundly proud of the man Nick grew to become and loved every aspect of being his father. As a family, they spent a lot of time together but always made time for their parents, siblings, their spouses and children and increased their circle of friends over the years. Rick was a very active participant in all gatherings of family and friends and each place he went, Rick lit up the gathering with his smile and genuine interest in talking with everyone.

Professionally, Rick was a brilliant, accomplished optical physicist in research and development who was awarded several patents and achievement awards. Rick worked in aerospace, medical technology, and cutting-edge technology in lithography, receiving patents in all areas. One of his key accomplishments in the early 1980s included working on the Hubble Space Telescope. Then in the mid-1980s Rick was working for a company that developed satellite guidance systems. However, it was a challenge as to prevent losing satellites in space. Rick came up with an idea to rectify that problem and he and his employer proposed an experiment to NASA to be conducted on a space shuttle mission. One of the professional thrills of his life was having the experience of working with the astronauts and flight team at the Johnson Space Center to explain and train how to conduct the experiment in space. Based on the data gathered on the flight and Rick’s work, his company was able to create greatly improved satellite guidance systems that prevented losing satellites in space and Rick was awarded a patent for his work. When working in the medical technology field in the 1990s, Rick received a patent for his work on equipment used to this day in hospitals that analyze blood. He also received patents for his work in the lithography field.

Rick’s career grew over the years so that he led a variety of R&D teams, at one time working with teams in the Netherlands, California and Connecticut. He was highly respected and regarded by many who worked for and with him. Rick always strove to do the highest quality of work, was recognized as a great developer of people and highly collaborative with all who he worked with. He always felt a team was better and smarter than an individual and insisted his teams be recognized for their contributions.

Rick was an ardent fan of the NY Yankees, growing up with Mickey Mantle as his hero. He had great interest and passion for music, spanning classical music, jazz, but most importantly rock music from the 1950s through the mid-1980s. He found great joy in music and loved sharing it with others. Rick also loved ancient history as well as WWI and WWII. Until he died, he was a true student at heart, studied great variety of things in math, science, history, sports and music.

Rick was born in Teaneck, NJ, grew up in Totowa, NJ, the son of Tony and Mary and big brother of Linda. He received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Stevens Institute of Technology and continued to take post graduate courses and self-taught many advanced programing languages.

Rick was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2009 and faced the challenges with amazing grace and determination to live as full a life as possible. He pushed himself to continue to visit with family and friends and travel with Mary Ann as well as some trips including Nick and Brady. He loved participating for several years in a boxing class for those with Parkinson’s. He shared his great sense of humor and love of music with his classmates and felt a deep bond with them and the instructors.

Kindly omit flowers, the family requests donations in Rick’s name be made to:

Regional Hospice, 30 Milestone Rd., Danbury, CT 06810 or go to: https://regionalhospicect.org/ or to the

Michael J. Fox Foundation, Grand Central Station, POB 4777, NY, NY 10163 or go to: https://www.michaeljfox.org/