Richard Comerford

Richard D. Comerford was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on October 21, 1944, to his mother, Violet Civitts Comerford and his father, Willbourne John Gibbon Frank. Richard was the very proud father of his daughters: Dr. Caroline Violet Comerford and Suzanne Comerford.

Richard obtained his BA in history at the University of Wisconsin in Madison; he obtained his MA in history at the Madison campus as well. And he studied Comparative World History for his Ph.D at the Madison campus as well and achieved all but his dissertation.

His lifelong best friend, Joseph Gable, told him of an opening for a professor at the newly established Bergen Community College in 1973. He pursued that position and was hired as a professor at Bergen Community College in Paramus, NJ in 1973. He was appointed to the rank of Full Professor in 1995. And he officially retired in 2020. Thereafter, he was awarded the distinguished Emeritus status at Bergen Community College.

Richard’s love of other cultures and travel led him to attend the Taiwan National University Chinese language program in the summer of 1974. He was also a resident at the London School of Economics during the summer of 1987 attending lectures on International Trade and Labor Relations. He also attended Oxford University in England during the summer of 1989 and attended additional labor relations courses at Rutgers University in the late 1980s. As part of his educational development, he travelled extensively in East and Southeast Asia, including Japan, and China from 1974 to 1976; and again in 2000 and 2008 to Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, India, Pakistan and Nepal. Richard routinely published articles in the early 1990s in his roles as Chief Steward, Professional Health Care Union (JNESO); Vice President, Professional Health Care Union; President, Professional Health Care Union and Treasurer Professional Health Care Union.

Richard’s lifelong devotion to labor unions was born of his mother Violet’s efforts to obtain fairness in the workplace for herself and co-workers in the Philadelphia community. He designed the AA in Labor Studies Program at BCC and he was the coordinator of the program from 1980 to 1984. He also taught American Labor History, Grievance and Arbitration and Labor Economics. Under a grant from the State of New Jersey he developed the Dual Enrollment Program for electricians from Local 164 which allowed students to earn an associate’s degree comprised of 60 credits from their apprenticeship program and 60 additional credits from BCC in 1982. The program won an Excellence award from the State of NJ in 1985. He also created special courses for shop stewards, local unions, especially bakery unions in 1984. He also worked with Bakery, Confectionary & Tobacco workers International Union, Local 719, Nabisco workers worked with Richard to set up courses at BCC and continued to offer shop stewards training in the late 1980s. He also developed Macroeconomics and Microeconomics courses for the AA in Economics program and taught those courses for over 37 years. He also developed online courses and taught online for 10 years prior to his retirement. He also set up computer tutorials for students.

He also taught Modern Asian History for over 30 years. He organized the “Economic Issues Forum” at the College which invited outside speakers from 1994 to 2000. He also co-chaired the economics program review and coached students for the Federal Reserve Challenge Competition from 2017 to 2018. He was also advisor to the BCC Economics Club.

In addition to many other roles at BCC, he was a member of the faculty senate from 1978 to 2008; he was also a member of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee for decades, as well as, serving as Co-Chair of the Grievance Committee for many years. He served on many faculty committees over the years and served as the Bergen County Education Association Representative Council, the NJEA Working Conditions committee, the NJEA Delegate Assembly Committee, the NJEA Negotiations committee, Chair of the NJEA Higher Education Committee, member of the NJEA Representative Assembly, NJEA delegate throughout the 1990s and 2000; NJEA Higher Education Consultant from 1980 through 2018.

He also served as a member of the Advisory Committee of the Botto House (American Labor Museum in Paterson, NJ); he was on the Board of the Bergen County Urban League; the Bergen County Central Trades & Labor Council, Liaison between the BCCTLC & AFL-CIO, BCCTLC Educational Advisory Committee, the Abe Solomon Scholarship Fund Board of Directors, a Consultant to the JNESO, Professional Health Care Workers Labor Union, among other roles.

Richard also served as Vice President of the Howe Foundation; he also served on the Dean Search Committee for the Howe Foundation at Steven’s Institute’s Howe School of Technology & Management, Project Director; he also served as the Executive Director of the Howe Foundation; and he was the liaison between the Howe Foundation & Columbia Presbyterian Hospital’s Neurological Diseases Research Program; and as the liaison between the Howe Foundation and Steven’s Institute’s Howe School of Technology. Richard served Bergen Community College for 47 years. He also taught at the New School for Social Research graduate program of Professional Studies for several semesters on private and public unionism. He was very active in the NJEA in leadership roles for decades. He worked for the NJEA as a negotiation’s consultant for 25 years with support staff and faculty association units in 9 of the 18 community colleges including Bergen, Passaic, Hudson, Essex, Ocean, Morris, Brookdale, Union and Warren counties.

In addition to his appointment as Professor Emeritus, Richard received the following Special Honors:

-Teacher of the Year Award at BCC in the Late 1990s

-Recognition Award for Service NJEA Higher Ed Committee 1996

-Faculty Appreciation Award Phi Theta Kappa in 2000

Richard was the proud father of both of his daughters, Dr. Caroline V. Comerford and Suzanne Comerford. He spent his life devoted to labor union issues in memory of his beloved mother who was a labor union activist for the latter part of her life. She passed away from leukemia when he was 11. He spent much of his childhood in foster care and ultimately lived in a Masonic Home for Orphans until age 17 when his best friends, the Gable brothers, convinced him to go with them to the University of Wisconsin at Madison. His years in Madison were a great source of pride for him.

He was the beloved brother-in-law to John Turcott and Diane Turcott, Michael Pizza Sr. and Denise Pizza, Maureen and Jerry Hughes and the late Dr. James V. Bastek and his wife, Carol and all of their children and grandchildren. He was also the beloved uncle to the Bastek family nieces and nephews including his Goddaughter, Lauren Videon, and Sean Callagy who cherishes his memory of the Bastek Family Olympics. He was also the beloved uncle to Rusty, Jeff and Randy Frank and great uncle to their children and grandchildren. They always let “Uncle Dick” know they loved him. His best friends in life were Joseph Gable, the late Timothy Gable, and Fred Gable and Professor Peter Helff. He loved his “other mother” Dorothy Gable, the mother of his best friends. He served as a beloved mentor and protégé to Takvor Mutafoglu who was beyond helpful in reconstructing his many professional accomplishments for this program. Richard was also survived by two of his former wives and mothers of his daughters: Suzanne Howe Comerford and Barbara B. Comerford.

For those wishing to make a charitable donation in Richard’s honor, donations may be mailed to: Bergen Community College Foundation ("In memory of Professor Emeritus Richard D. Comerford"), Suite A-325 400 Paramus Road, Paramus, NJ 07652

https://bccf.networkforgood.com/projects/6967-bccf-main-giving-page

A visitation for Richard will be held Saturday, January 18, 2025, from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at Our Lady of Mercy Roman Catholic Church, 2 Fremont Ave, Park Ridge, NJ 07656, followed by a funeral mass from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM.