Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home

ROCKLAND - Gerald E. Richards, 87, longtime Rockland resident, died Monday, June 20, 2011 at Penobscot Bay Medical Center in Rockport.
Born in Searsmont, March 28, 1924, he was the son of George E. and Abbie Richards. He attended local schools. At the age of 16, he moved with his family to Thomaston. They later lived in Glen Cove, before moving to Holmes Street in Rockland.
On April 8, 1972, he married Mavis Moore at Littlefield Memorial Baptist Church in Rockland. The couple made their home on Kelley Lane. in Rockland. Mrs. Richards died October 14, 2009.
For more than 20 years he worked with M & G Sportswear. He later worked at Forty Fathoms for ten years, and retired from Samco Can Company in 1986, all in Rockland.
Mr. Richards was a member of Assemblies of God Church in Thomaston for more than 30 years. Previously he was a ten year member of the Rockland Church of the Nazarene and for a period, attended Soul's Harbor Church of God. In all the churches he attended, Mr. Richards served as Head Usher and while at the Assembly of God, he served as Deacon and as a Board Member.
During his recent illness, and through the support of his family, several friends, and health care providers, Mr. Richards was pleased to be able to participate as an area pilot member of Full Circle America. An audio/video link between these care providers, gave him the ability to live independently in his own home.
Other than his wife, Mavis, he was pre-deceased by four brothers, Bernard, Charles, Kenneth, and Raymond Richards, two sisters Georgianna Richards and Marita Richards. He is survived by his siblings, Roland Richards, Lloyd Richards and his wife Liza of Glen Cove, Christina Bryant of Camden, and Edith Poland of Florida, as well as many nieces and nephews.
Relatives and friends are invited to visit from 6:00 to 8:00 Thursday evening at Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock Street, Rockland, where a funeral service will be held at 10:00 Friday morning. Pastor Jeffrey Green will officiate. Interment will be at Achorn Cemetery at a later date.
In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Humane Society of Knox County, P. O. Box 1294, Rockland, ME 04841.