KENNEBUNK — Dr. Richard James Best, 88, of Kennebunk, died peacefully Tuesday morning, April 29, 2014, at Maine Veterans’ Home in Scarborough after a long illness.
He was born in New York on April 21, 1926, to Anthony James Best and Jennie Sophia (née Bergstrom) Best.
He graduated from Bishop Lachlan High School, and in December 1943, joined the U.S. Navy and was sent to Dartmouth College for officer training. He was honorably discharged in 1945 when World War II ended. He then attended Columbia University, where he finished his bachelor’s degree in January 1949.
In August 1949, he married Eleanor Dorothea Deane in Flushing, N.Y., and the newlyweds moved to Providence, R.I., where he was studying for a doctorate at Brown University. In 1953, when he completed his doctorate in physical chemistry, they settled in Norwalk, Conn., where Dr. Best was employed as a research chemist by American Cyanamid.
With amateur interests in photography and astronomy, he built his own telescope in 1957 and later, during the early years of the manned space program, gave lectures on astronomy. He and his wife Eleanor welcomed the birth of their two children in 1957 and 1960. In late 1963, the family relocated to Kennebunk when Dr. Best was transferred to the Sanford plant of American Cyanamid (later renamed Cyro Industries).
An avid life-long reader, during the 1970s, Dr. Best served as a trustee on the Board of the Kennebunk Free Library and in 1973-74 was president. He led a committee that initiated long-range planning for library facilities and services.
In the 1980s, Dr. Best taught evening chemistry classes at the University of Southern Maine. He and his wife enjoyed the friendship of other couples through Marriage Encounter and the Christ Church bridge group. Dr. Best and his wife were members of Holy Spirit Parish, Kennebunk since 1963 and participated in Bible study at Our Lady of the Lakes, Oquossoc.
Once Dr. Best retired in June 1989, after 37 years with Cyro Industries, he and Eleanor spent more time at their beloved cottage on Rangeley Lake. Over the years, in the Rangeley region, his love of the outdoors grew through fly fishing, canoeing, boating, hiking, swimming, scuba diving, and skiing Saddleback Mountain. In retirement, Dr. Best and his wife divided their time between Rangeley, Kennebunk and Florida. They also enjoyed several Elderhostel excursions in the U.S. and a 45th anniversary trip to France and Switzerland with their daughter, Kathleen. In 2006, they fulfilled a life-long dream by taking a family cruise of the Inside Passage of Alaska. Since May 2012, Dr. Best has been a resident of the Maine Veterans Home in Scarborough.
He is survived by: his wife, Eleanor; son, Richard Deane Best of Kennebunk; and daughter, Kathleen Best Gillmann of Burke, Va.
Visiting hours will be on Monday, May 5 from 4-7 p.m. at Bibber Memorial Chapel, 67 Summer St., Kennebunk. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated on Tuesday, May 6 at 11 a.m. at Holy Spirit Parish/St. Martha’s Church, 30 Portland Road, Kennebunk, followed by a light lunch reception in the parish hall. In lieu of flowers, donations in tribute/in memory are encouraged to: Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, http://www.michealjfox.org, or to Kennebunk Free Library, 112 Main St., Kennebunk, ME 04043. Arrangements are in care of Bibber Memorial Chapel, Kennebunk.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.