Richard E Hilton

CUMBERLAND – Richard Hilton of Cumberland Foreside went to be with His Lord, surrounded by his family at the Gosnell Memorial Hospice House in Scarborough after a long illness on November 4, 2011. He was 61 years old.

He was born 1950, in Melrose, Massachusetts, the son of Clyde and Phyllis Hilton. He went to Emerson College in Boston majoring in Communications, planning a career in broadcasting. He married Christine Ruggelo Hilton; they were together for 40 years.

In 1976 Richard and Chris moved to Maine and started Edgecomb Potters. They started a family at the same time and were blessed with two sons, Craig Richard and Bradford Julian. Richard and Chris hand threw pots and sold them out of the Red School House that was their home, their studio, and was the original Edgecomb Potters store on Boothbay Road in Edgecomb. Because of Richards ingenuity and winning spirit Edgecomb Potters became one of the businesses which sold in the Fanueil Hall Marketplace in Boston on its opening day in 1977 and for some years after that. This exposure helped the business to begin growing.

Richard recognized that he needed to spend time on developing his artistic craft. His focus, dedication, and hard work led him to develop techniques completely new to the industry. He became an innovator in production pottery doing things that no one had ever thought of doing before which changed the pottery industry. He also became a leading ceramic chemist keeping Edgecombs’ techniques and glazes on the cutting edge. Over the years he developed hundreds of glazes through experimentation and observation mixing and firing over and over until the glazes came to life. His first accomplished glaze, Copper Red, was the one that first gave him national recognition. His work has been selected by the Russian Ambassador to the United States to be presented to the Mayor of Portland’s Russian sister city, Archangel. One of his large vases with Kyoto Forest glaze was given as a gift to the President of Taiwan. Richard’s work was showcased multiple times in industry magazines including Ceramics Monthly and Niche Magazine as well as being recognized in the Boston Globe, American Style, the Dallas Times, the San Diego Union, Downeast, and others. In 1993, Edgecomb Potters was listed as one of the “Best of the Road” by Rand McNally Road Atlas.

In the first year of Edgecomb Potters, Richard had quietly asked God for just a little success. He knew that his great success was a blessing from God which was nurtured by hard work and commitment. He loved the form and function of what he made and reveled in the fantastic colors that he was able to create. He had the eye of a master artist without any training. When he made something he wondered at the joy it brought him and others. He was grateful to God for the opportunity and gift.

He had a tremendous love, pride, and concern for his family. He loved to play with and tease his boys when they were little. Christmas was celebrated first as the birth of His Lord and then as a day of fun, gifts, food, and laughter with his family. As Craig and Brad turned into men, he loved to spend time guiding, talking, and sharing with them. He wanted them to work hard and do well but he also didn’t want them to take life too seriously. He wanted them to find joy in the people and the world. Like all dad’s he worried about them but in each he saw gifts that were a combination of the characteristics that he and Chris had. He was once asked in an interview which piece of Edgecomb he was most proud of and the answer was simple, his two sons.

Richard was a warm hearted man who loved people. He felt very blessed and believed that to everyone who is given much, much is required. He loved to surprise people with gifts. He would quietly help people in need and make special occasions more so because he loved to see the joy it brought to them. He was generous with organizations that helped the poor including Central Africa Vision, Hope House and The Root Cellar. He was also generous with his time having shopping dates with his nieces or looking in on someone he knew was having a hard time.

Richard said,” I believe that great art pottery encompasses a spirit reflected in life; no two pieces, as no two people, no two living creatures, are exactly alike.” Richard was a special creation who left his fingerprints on many in his passing. He will be missed.

He is survived by his mother Phyllis of Saco, Me: his wife, Christine Ruggelo Hilton of Cumberland, Me; two sons Craig Hilton of Cumberland, Me and Brad Hilton of San Diego, Ca; three brothers, James of St Augustine, Fl, Clyde of Haverhill, Ma and Scott of Boston, Ma as well as the Profenna Family of Everett, Ma, the Ruggelo family of Amesbury, Ma, and the Hommel family of Revere, Ma. Richard’s father predeceased him.

A service in celebration of his life will be at First Baptist Church, Canco Road, Portland, Maine on November 9, 2011 at 11:00 AM. A lunch reception will follow.

Arrangements are in the care of the Lindquist Funeral Home One Mayberry Lane Yarmouth.

Please visit www.lindquistfuneralhome.com for additional information and to sign Richard's guestbook.

In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to:

The Root Cellar

94 Washington Avenue

Portland, Maine 04103