ALBERT DEWEY RICHARDS, M.D.

ELLSWORTH, BRIDGTON and PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. Albert Dewey Richards, M.D., 81, died Sunday, Aug. 10, 2008, after a long battle with cancer. He was born March 4, 1927, in Industry, the son of Albert and Nellie (Booker) Richards. He graduated from Farmington High School in 1945 and then served in the U.S. Army Airborne Division, 1946-1948. Dewey graduated from the University of Maine in 1956, Tufts Medical School in 1960 and he interned at Maine Medical Center, Portland. He opened his general medical practice in Bridgton in 1961 and helped design Northern Cumberland Memorial Hospital, where he was president of the board of directors and chief of staff. He was the founder and president of MedNow Urgent Care Centers throughout Maine, where he ensured that his patients could simply walk in without an appointment and be treated promptly and thoroughly. Thereafter, he was a research associate at Dartmouth School of Medicine; associate professor at Tufts Medical School; director of Eastern Maine Medical Center’s, EMMC, Family Practice program; chief of EMMC Family Practice service; professor at Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Va.; residency assistance program consultant in Kansas City, Mo.; and on the executive committee at EVMC, Norfolk, Va. He retired from medical practice in 1993 to travel, play golf and Tournament Bridge, fly his plane, work in his wood lot in Bridgton, and do medical research. During his retirement, he also authored several books, which include medical mysteries, a biography, and an autobiography. He was a gifted researcher and teacher who enjoyed sharing his knowledge and skills with others. He is survived by his wife, Loretta Maychild Richards of Trenton; his siblings, Robert of Farmington, Alonzo and wife, Charity, of Dedham and Patricia Campbell and husband, Tom, of Littleton, N.H.; his children, Susan Finch of Saco, Michael and wife, Pam, of Peaks Island, Donna Cotton of Kansas City, Mo., Cathy Hill of Oklahoma City, Daniel and wife, Roseana, of Suwanee, Ga., John and wife, Sherri, of Simpsonville, S.C., Lindy Sewell Cluff of Wells, Sherman Sewell and wife, Kelly, Alan Sewell and wife, Sheila, all of Nashua, N.H., Tom Sewell and wife, Tiffany, of Haverhill, Mass., and Kurt Sewell of Biddeford; stepchildren, Julie Tilden and husband, Duane Crawford of Lamoine, Robert Tilden and wife, Lori, of Lamoine, Andrea Tilden and husband, Eric Thomas, of Waterville and Sarah Tilden-Warner and husband, Scott, of Lincoln. He will be greatly missed by his siblings, children, 31 grandchildren, nieces, nephews and the many people he touched throughout the course of his lifetime. Dewey was predeceased by his first wife, Emily Gamage Richards, in 1989; his brother, John; and his sister, Shirley Roberts. A service of celebration and remembrance will be held 11 a.m. Labor Day, Sept. 1 at First Congregational Church, Bridgton. A gathering and refreshments will be after at Dewey’s Camp on Highland Lake. Gifts of remembrance may be given to Bridgton Public Library, Main Street, Bridgton, ME 04009 or Hospice of Hancock County, 14 McKenzie Ave., Ellsworth, ME 04605. Arrangements by Jordan-Fernald, 113 Franklin St., Ellsworth. Condolences may be expressed at www.jordanfernald.com.