Albert S. Richardson Jr. ’49

Al died at home Jan. 25, 2024, just weeks after celebrating his 97th birthday. Born in Wyoming, Ohio, near Cincinnati, he grew up in the Philadelphia area.

After serving in the Navy, Al matriculated at Princeton, the third generation of his family to do so, and joined the Class of 1949, graduating in July 1949 with a degree in electrical engineering.

Al started with the General Electric Co. in Philadelphia as an electrical engineer while attending Temple Law School. He married Emily Meisterand and they had four children: Albert S. III, Emily, Anne, and Lisa.

Having received a law degree from Temple, and now divorced, Al transferred to the transportation division of GE in Erie, Pa., as patent counsel. He continued his active participation in social, racial, and religious issues. Among his many achievements was the creation of the Frederick Douglass Scholarship Fund for Erie students, Sierra Club, Citzens Against Racism, NAACP, and countless others including his own Unitarian Universalist congregation.

In 1989, Al married Peggy, adding two stepchildren to his extended family. She predeceased him, but Al has left us an enduring legacy of a truly wise and generous person.