Running is such a visual experience and until the invention of the cellphone camera, almost all the images were left to the mind’s eye.
Bob Richey, athlete extraordinaire, was way ahead of all the technology because he began to capture life’s scenes by reproducing them on an artist’s canvas well back into the last century.
His gift was visualizing these sights from a runner’s perspective, which helps explain why his works were so popular and well respected.
Richey, a Chestnut Hill native who resided in Warminster, passed away on Dec. 1 at the age of 75.
His rare talent, along with his contributions to the Bucks County running community, will be missed.
“There is some relationship to what I do athletically in my art,” Richey told me for a profile written in this column back in 2020.
“All those years of running – and I’ve always been a cyclist, too – but when I was running through Tyler Park (Newtown/Richboro) I was always looking and seeing things in the landscape that I might go back to and make art of. I ride all over the place. A lot of what I do with my artwork is from things I see when I’m out running or on my bicycle.”
Richey attended Germantown High School from which he graduated in 1967. He went on to Penn State University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering.
During a stint in the U.S. military in the early ‘70s, Richey discovered an affinity for art while painting signage on a base in West Germany.
According to an obituary posted on the website www.dignitymemorial.com, Richey spent his leave time bicycling around Europe. Those excursions included trips to Germany, France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy and the United Kingdom. The scenery, combined with the physical exercise “would have a lasting influence on his life.”
Richey was employed as an engineer at the Johnsville Naval Air Development Center in Willow Grove for 23 years until 1996 when it closed. The government offered him an early retirement/pension.
That was fine with him. He was ready to pursue his real passion, which was art.
“As a child, I always enjoyed drawing doing artwork,” he said in the 2020 interview. “Even in grade school, teachers commented that I was good at art even if I was behind in my reading assignments.”
The retirement from the military also gave Richey more time to pursue his other passions, running and biking. He joined the Bucks County Roadrunners Club where he met his wife, Linda, also an outstanding runner.
Longtime BCRR member Tom Fuoco met up with his old running/cycling acquaintance while on a ride just this past summer and the two contemporaries had a chance to talk about the “good old days.”
“We talked about the early days of running with the BCRR and how competitive our age group had been,” Fuoco recalled. “We met up at the Wycombe train station and rode for a couple hours.
“He said he was going to turn 75 in a few weeks. He was looking forward to setting some segment records for his age on Strava. Shortly after I saw that he had accomplished just that.”
Richey stood out not only on the local scene but the national one as well.
In 1976, he rode his bicycle across the United States as part of Bikecentennial ’76. He did a three-week bike tour of New Zealand with friends and, according to www.dignitymemorial.com, did a solo tour of Canadian provinces Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.
Other accomplishments: A sub-five-minute-mile run at age 40, All-America status by USA Triathlon in 2015 and second place natonally (age group 65-69) in aqua-bike competition.
“Like many runners, Bob was very easy-going, out-going,” said Larry Waldman, who often found himself alongside Richey while competing in local races. “Just a nice guy.
“Because I was an engineer, we talked a little engineering sometimes.”
Added Richey’s cycling pal Chuck Narrod: “The one thing that impressed me about Bob, when the base closed, he said, ‘well, I’m just going to stick with my art.’ And he became a great artist. He was a guy who would stick with you. I was a slow cyclist and runner and he would always stick with me. Hung out with me and I enjoyed that.”
The chance to be outstanding in two fields (art, athletics) was a blessing for Richey.
In his prime, Richey completed 5,000 meters in 17:40, 10K in 36:00 and the 13.1-mile half-marathon in 1:18.
Meanwhile, his art won countless awards: Five-time honoree at the prestigious Phillips Mill Art Show in New Hope and other achievements at Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia and the Allied Artists of America prize in New York City.
Fuoco knows this area has lost a distinguished talent and fine person.
“Bob was a competitive athlete and very talented artist,” Fuoco said. “He surely will be missed.”Race calendar
Bob Richey, athlete extraordinaire, was way ahead of all the technology because he began to capture life’s scenes by reproducing them on an artist’s canvas well back into the last century.
His gift was visualizing these sights from a runner’s perspective, which helps explain why his works were so popular and well respected.
Richey, a Chestnut Hill native who resided in Warminster, passed away on Dec. 1 at the age of 75.
His rare talent, along with his contributions to the Bucks County running community, will be missed.
“There is some relationship to what I do athletically in my art,” Richey told me for a profile written in this column back in 2020.
“All those years of running – and I’ve always been a cyclist, too – but when I was running through Tyler Park (Newtown/Richboro) I was always looking and seeing things in the landscape that I might go back to and make art of. I ride all over the place. A lot of what I do with my artwork is from things I see when I’m out running or on my bicycle.”
Richey attended Germantown High School from which he graduated in 1967. He went on to Penn State University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering.
During a stint in the U.S. military in the early ‘70s, Richey discovered an affinity for art while painting signage on a base in West Germany.
According to an obituary posted on the website www.dignitymemorial.com, Richey spent his leave time bicycling around Europe. Those excursions included trips to Germany, France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy and the United Kingdom. The scenery, combined with the physical exercise “would have a lasting influence on his life.”
Richey was employed as an engineer at the Johnsville Naval Air Development Center in Willow Grove for 23 years until 1996 when it closed. The government offered him an early retirement/pension.
That was fine with him. He was ready to pursue his real passion, which was art.
“As a child, I always enjoyed drawing doing artwork,” he said in the 2020 interview. “Even in grade school, teachers commented that I was good at art even if I was behind in my reading assignments.”
The retirement from the military also gave Richey more time to pursue his other passions, running and biking. He joined the Bucks County Roadrunners Club where he met his wife, Linda, also an outstanding runner.
Longtime BCRR member Tom Fuoco met up with his old running/cycling acquaintance while on a ride just this past summer and the two contemporaries had a chance to talk about the “good old days.”
“We talked about the early days of running with the BCRR and how competitive our age group had been,” Fuoco recalled. “We met up at the Wycombe train station and rode for a couple hours.
“He said he was going to turn 75 in a few weeks. He was looking forward to setting some segment records for his age on Strava. Shortly after I saw that he had accomplished just that.”
Richey stood out not only on the local scene but the national one as well.
In 1976, he rode his bicycle across the United States as part of Bikecentennial ’76. He did a three-week bike tour of New Zealand with friends and, according to www.dignitymemorial.com, did a solo tour of Canadian provinces Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.
Other accomplishments: A sub-five-minute-mile run at age 40, All-America status by USA Triathlon in 2015 and second place natonally (age group 65-69) in aqua-bike competition.
“Like many runners, Bob was very easy-going, out-going,” said Larry Waldman, who often found himself alongside Richey while competing in local races. “Just a nice guy.
“Because I was an engineer, we talked a little engineering sometimes.”
Added Richey’s cycling pal Chuck Narrod: “The one thing that impressed me about Bob, when the base closed, he said, ‘well, I’m just going to stick with my art.’ And he became a great artist. He was a guy who would stick with you. I was a slow cyclist and runner and he would always stick with me. Hung out with me and I enjoyed that.”
The chance to be outstanding in two fields (art, athletics) was a blessing for Richey.
In his prime, Richey completed 5,000 meters in 17:40, 10K in 36:00 and the 13.1-mile half-marathon in 1:18.
Meanwhile, his art won countless awards: Five-time honoree at the prestigious Phillips Mill Art Show in New Hope and other achievements at Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia and the Allied Artists of America prize in New York City.
Fuoco knows this area has lost a distinguished talent and fine person.
“Bob was a competitive athlete and very talented artist,” Fuoco said. “He surely will be missed.”Race calendar
Sunday
Bucks County Roadrunners Club Winter Series Covered Bridge 5K, 9 a.m., Tyler State Park. Contact www.bcrrclub.com
