Richard W. Ladd

Richard W. Ladd, surrounded by his loving family, passed away peacefully on Monday, December 13, 2021, at Seasons Hospice in Wilmington Hospital, after a brief illness. The son of Hammond and Edith (Briggs) Ladd of Tarrytown, New York, Dick was born on July 29, 1929. A graduate of the University of Missouri in chemical engineering, he had a long, successful career in the chemical and petroleum industry. For over thirty years, he was an environmental engineer with the Getty Oil Company, later Texaco, at the Delaware City Refinery. A man of many interests, Dick especially enjoyed annual vacations at Camp Ladd, a multigenerational family compound in Wilson Pond in Maine where he sailed and learned windsurfing with his Ladd cousins. He enjoyed both of those sports at his vacation home in Port Lewes, Delaware, as well. A member of the Newark Country Club for many years, he loved golf and weekly bridge games with long time friends in friendly competition. During his retirement years, he and his wife, Maureen, traveled frequently to Europe, Hawaii, and the Caribbean. He was a particular favorite of his wife’s Gallagher cousins at their annual Metropolitan Opera party in New York. Most of all, Dick, a beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather, loved being with family, attending celebrations, graduations, and watching his grandchildren’s sporting events. He is survived by his wife of 43 years, Maureen; daughter, Diane; son, Christopher; stepsons, Jerry Sheridan (Mary Ann) and Daniel Sheridan (Beth); daughter-in-law, Catherine Ladd; grandchildren, Addison, Corynn, Jack, Michael, Joseph, Colleen, and Bridget; great grandson, Alastair; and many nieces and nephews. Dick was preceded in death by his brother, Hammond Ladd, Jr.; sisters, Mary Hair and Edith Evans; and son, Thomas. The family wishes to express their sincere thanks to the nurses and staff of Seasons Hospice in Wilmington for their care of Dick over the past week. A visitation for family and friends will be held from 10 am until 11 am on Wednesday, December 22, 2021, at Spicer-Mullikin Funeral Home, 121 West Park Place, Newark, DE, where a memorial service will begin at 11 am. Face coverings will be required for all those in attendance not immunized with the COVID-19 vaccine. Interment will be held privately. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Dick’s memory to the Newark Senior Center, 200 Whitechapel Drive, Newark, DE 19713.

Richard W. Ladd

July 29, 1929 - December 13, 2021