Obituary of Richard Warren Glass

Richard W. Glass, died peacefully at his home in Waldo, Maine, on July 5, 2013. Mr. Glass was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on November 13, 1924, to Bert Franklin Glass and Pauline Kimball Glass. He attended schools in Belmont, Mass., and graduated from Belmont Senior High School in 1941, at the age of 17. He attended Northeastern University, where he studied business administration and commercial law, until he reached age 18, at which time he and three high school buddies volunteered together in 1942 for the draft. He served in the U.S. Army, 296th Combat Engineer Battalion, during World War II, and landed on Normandy Beach on “D plus 6". His unit cleared mine fields, built Bailey Bridges, and constructed roads, from the Normandy beachhead, through France, the Ardennes Forest, and into Germany, before Richard returned home to Boston in December of 1945. While reminiscing, Richard often reflected that as a young boy he “always wanted to go to law school.” That dream was fulfilled when he entered Boston University Law School on the G.I. Bill following his service in the Army. While still a law student, he married Cynthia Elizabeth Morey of Belmont, Mass., on June 26, 1948. He graduated from law school in 1950 and then practiced law in Boston for two years before moving to Belfast, Maine, in 1952 to begin a long, rewarding and successful legal career in Belfast. His first four years were spent in partnership with BU Law School classmate, Hubert Townsend. In 1956, Richard founded a new Belfast law firm in partnership with the late Lorimer K. Eaton, Esq. Eaton & Glass grew over the years with the addition of partners Francis C. Marsano, Esq., and Lee Woodward, Jr., Esq. From 1994 to 2000, Mr. Glass was a member of Glass & Dawson, P.A., in partnership with William L. Dawson, Jr., Esq., in Belfast. Richard is remembered as a “lawyer’s lawyer” who was held in the highest esteem by the public, his legal peers and clients. In October of 1955, Richard was appointed by Governor Muskie as judge of the Waldo County Municipal Court, making him the youngest municipal judge in the State of Maine at the time. After serving two years as Waldo County Municipal Judge, he then spent five years as Waldo County Attorney from 1957 to 1962. He served two terms in the Maine Senate, representing Waldo County, from 1964 to 1972. Richard was well known as a trial lawyer with a sharp legal intellect and a baritone voice that was readily heard in the courtroom. He also earned a reputation for providing wise counsel in his law office over the years. His clients included numerous citizens of midcoast Maine, school districts, towns, banks, and businesses, over a career that spanned more than fifty years in Belfast, Maine. Richard loved the comfort of a good book and a warm fire, but his love for the great outdoors came first. He loved hunting and fishing, cutting and splitting firewood, gardening, and “going to camp”. He especially enjoyed the wilderness of northern Maine and his many trips up north where he would often charter a plane into a long lost fishing pond. Mr. Glass was a past member of the Board of Directors of the University of Maine Foundation, a member of the University of Maine Foundation Charles F. Allen Society, a corporator of Bangor Savings Bank, and a past member of the Board of Directors of Waldo County General Hospital. He was raised a master mason in freemasonry on December 28, 1950, and was presented his fifty year medal at Belfast Lodge #24 in 2000. He was also a member of Anah Shriners of Bangor, Maine. Richard and his wife Cynthia became proud parents of twin daughters, Melinda and Cynthia, on November 8, 1953. He was predeceased by his parents, his brothers Donald H. Glass, Esq., and Alan H. Glass, and a beloved grandson, Jared Enos. He is survived by his wife, Cynthia E. Glass, his daughter Melinda J. Pomelow, and husband Bruce, of Bucksport, ME, his daughter Cynthia E. Enos, and husband William, of Belmont, ME, three grandchildren, a great granddaughter, and his brother Dr. Robert L. Glass of New Hampshire. Those who wish may make donations in Dick's memory to either Hospice Volunteers of Waldo County, PO Box 772, Belfast, ME 04915 or to Nature Conservancy.