Richard P. Sweeney

Richard P. Sweeney. Rich. Dad. Grandpa. He was born on Christmas Day in 1946. His two older brothers would dare him to drink gasoline, steal his mom’s cigarettes, and light things on fire. He married Ruth, his high school sweetheart, 57 years ago. And helped raise their three daughters, Stephanie, Julie and Amy — kicking boyfriends out of bedrooms and hiding out in the yard at midnight trying to catch who was toilet papering the house. He spent 35 years working at New York State’s Dept of Environmental Conservation. He cared deeply about the environment and has been relentlessly composting, recycling, and repurposing (aka garbage picking) since the 70’s. When he retired, he drove over an hour each morning to babysit his grandsons. He was incredibly active in his community and local politics — serving as Trustee and Deputy Mayor of Williamsville, Glen Park Committee, former treasurer and Sergeant at Arms for Western NY Chapter of NYS Alliance for Retired Americans, Tree Board and ReTree committee to replace damaged trees.

He had tremendous patience when it came to his hobbies and his six grandchildren, Evan, Maisie, Ray, Clara, Gideon and Goldie. He loved carrying the grandkids around the yard facing outward looking at the plants together. He would sit on the floor playing Polly Pockets for hours, always the one to push the swing, the stroller, the little tike car. He enjoyed collecting stamps and coins, doing puzzles, and gardening — the best tomatoes in the village of Williamsville! On the contrary, he displayed the absolute least amount of patience when asked a simple question, placing a food order, or when the Bills lost. We will remember him dearly for all, and continue to find him in nature — in everything rooted and strong.