BEARDMORE, Richard

Richard Beardmore

July 31, 1946 – September 7, 2025

Beloved husband, brother, father, uncle and grandfather, Richard Beardmore passed away peacefully on September 7, 2025, at Hôpital Fleurimont (CHUS) in Sherbrooke, Québec.

Born in Montreal on July 31, 1946, Richard was the eldest child of Harvey and Frances (née Barnes) Beardmore. Richard grew up with a love of the outdoors, spending many happy moments at the family farm ‘Le Gîte’ near Mille-Isles, Québec.

He attended McGill University, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, graduating in 1970 with dual bachelor’s degrees in Science and Architecture. Adventure called soon after: while visiting his uncle in Kenya with his first wife Lorna Dwyer, he accepted a post with the Ministry of Works in Nairobi. There, he designed houses and neighbourhoods for a community development project that ultimately provided housing for more than 30,000 people. His time in Nairobi marked the beginning of two decades living in Africa, where his three children with Lorna were born.

Inspired by the power of design to uplift communities, Richard returned to study and earned a master’s degree in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1978. He embarked on a distinguished career in international development, working tirelessly to improve urban infrastructure across 18 countries in Africa and Asia. His projects tackled water supply, sanitation, housing, flood prevention, and population displacement with ingenuity and integrity. A classmate from McGill aptly described Richard’s career as “admirable, ethical and praiseworthy.”

While on assignment in Zambia with the World Bank, Richard met Marianne Bergstrom. They married in 1999, settled in Washington, D.C., and later divided their retirement years between Finland and Canada. Marianne predeceased him on April 29, 2023, leaving Richard with cherished memories of their life together.

Richard was immensely proud of his three children: Ben (Jessica Wellington), Sarah (Mauro Martinelli) and Simon (Isabel Beardmore), whom he lovingly called his academic, advocate, and adventurer respectively. His grandchildren brought him countless moments of joy: Jonathan, Marjorie, Maia, Finn, Teslin, Isla and Eva. He is survived by his sisters Anne Psaila (Jim Ransehousan), Patty Muldoon, Carol Lamb (Garry Lamb) and Diane Lobb; his brother Ian, brother-in-law Eddie Muldoon, and granddaughter Helen predeceased him.

A gentle spirit with a wry sense of humour, Richard approached every challenge with calm determination. He loved fishing, skiing, swimming, cooking, and playing golf. In recent years, he never missed watching a Grand Slam tennis match.

His family wishes to express their heart-felt thanks to the staff at the Grace Village Retirement Community in Sherbrooke. From the moment he arrived, Richard was welcomed into a warm, vibrant community where he received compassionate and attentive care. Your kindness and camaraderie brought him great comfort and brightened each of his days.

A celebration of Richard’s life, memorial service and burial in Mille-Isles is being arranged. In lieu of flowers, his family invites donations to Help Lesotho (www.helplesotho.org), a non-profit organization that delivers grassroots mental health support and training programs in Lesotho, one of the many countries that Richard called home.

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May God give you the strength and the courage to overcome these difficult times. May this message bring you the testimony of a profound and sincere sympathy. To help you forget these sad hours, may our thoughts bring you comfort and serenity. Although flowers wither, die and disappear, their precious perfume remains. Like these bright flowers, those we love never die, they remain with us forever imprinted in our memories. There are no words to express how much we are devastated by the loss you live. We just hope that our sympathy will bring you some relief.

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3 messages received

My deepest sympathies.

Angie Nutbrown, September 10, 2025

Our heartfelt sympathy on Richard’s passing to his three sisters, brother Ian three cherished children and beloved grandchildren. A remarkable life lived to its fullest. We benefitted many years ago from the Beardmore African hospitality in Harare and appreciated getting to know more of the Beardmore family!

Brian and Kathy Inglis, September 10, 2025

Richard was my classmate for 6 years at McGill University. As I recently told his sister Anne: Of all my classmates, I found that Richard’s career was the most admirable, ethical, and praiseworthy.  I wish the world had more people like him.

Even those words of praise seem extreme shallow with his passing. He was a remarkable person who made everything and everyone in his orbit better with his presence, his acuity, and his humor.

The world is now a lesser place. Fond farewells Richard.

Arch Currie, September 11, 2025