Richard W. Matlack ’63

Dick died peacefully June 7, 2023, at Quarry Hill Retirement Community in Camden, Maine, after a prolonged battle with Parkinson’s disease.

He came to Princeton from Moorestown (N.J.) Friends School, where he played varsity soccer, was president of the honorary Varsity Club, and leader of the visual aids club and the stage crew. At Princeton, Dick was one of the first early concentrators in the physics department, wrote his senior thesis on “A Photoelectric Investigation of Multiple Quantum Jumps Using a LASER,” and took his meals at Campus Club, where he was treasurer senior year. He played soccer all four years and captained the team in his senior year.

Upon graduation, Dick volunteered with the Quakers as a conscientious objector in Algeria, and helped rebuild that country’s infrastructure after the Algerian War. While there, he met Hilary Duckering, who was volunteering as a nurse with an English organization sponsored by the United Nations. They married July 17, 1965, in Nottingham, England, and settled at Westtown Boarding School in West Chester, Pa., where he taught high school chemistry.

In 1969, they moved to Cape Elizabeth, Maine, and Dick started his 30-year career with Scott Paper Co. He retired in 1999 and a year later, he and Hilary moved fulltime to the camp where he had spent summers with his family growing up in Owls Head, Maine, a coastal resort and fishing town.

In retirement, Dick enjoyed kayaking, sailing, woodworking, and creating in his machine shop. He was also active with the Georges River Land Trust and served many years on its board of directors.

Dick is survived by his wife of 57 years, Hilary; son Duncan; daughter Megan; and four grandchildren.