in memoriam
Richard Griswold Woolworth Jr. ’70, p’01, ’04, ’06 Trustee 2006–14 December 29, 1951 – December 6, 2021 by Peter C. Brooks ’70, p’12
Rick Woolworth with his family, Jill, Virginia, Helen, and Jocelyn
R
ick passed away as a result of an aortic dissection on December 6, 2021. As those who knew him will attest, there were few 69-year-olds in as strong physical condition as Rick. His sudden death was a shock. Rick came to Groton from Lancaster, Pennsylvania (“that’s LANcaster, not LanCASter”) as a Third Former in the fall of 1966. He arrived as a relatively short, blondhaired kid with a young voice (not too uncommon for most Third Formers) and a friendly personality. In those days, most new boys arrived in Second Form, so the adjustment for the Third Form newcomers was often difficult at first. Not for Rick, though. Although a bit shy at the beginning, he was soon quick to make friends, and his innate athletic talents enabled him to make a mark early. In spite of his small stature in those early days, he soon proved he was a force to be reckoned with in soccer,
basketball, and tennis—by Fourth Form year he was a starter on varsity in all three sports. Somewhat uncharacteristically, Rick became a rabid fan of the Steve Miller Band. One remembers the bars of “Living in the USA” playing too loudly from the illicit speakers of his corner Brooks House study Sixth Form year. That is until the footsteps of Corky Nichols ’30 could be heard coming down the long hallway. The music was promptly doused. A betting person would do well to wager that Rick never received a black mark throughout his tenure at Groton. He was too focused on other stuff. At Dartmouth, Rick continued to pursue his athletic passions, ending up as captain of the tennis team and a top squash player (despite only taking the game up in his freshman year). But the most long-lasting and important part of Rick’s Dartmouth years came in the fall of his senior year, when he met a first-year Dartmouth student, Jill Shaw.
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