Friends describe Rich Eldridge as kind, thoughtful, and quick to laugh. He cared for his family, his students, his colleagues, and justice in education and throughout humankind.
Rich passed away earlier this month at the age of eighty-five. Friends across the community have been sharing memories of his humor, patience, and steady presence in Friends education.
Rich became a Friend in Baltimore when he and his family joined Stony Run Meeting. His first position in Friends education was as a trustee of Baltimore Friends School (BFS) where he and his former spouse, Lucy, sent their two kids, David and Susan. He remained active in Friends education as his work moved his family up the Mid-Atlantic coast.
He next served as Head of School at Buckingham Friends School, Friends Seminary, Friends Academy, and The Willow School. He also served on the boards of Friends Journal, Oakwood Friends School, Friends Academy, and was an active member of Friends Council on Education.
Rich’s study of American literature led him to research Jean Toomer, a writer of the Harlem Renaissance. Jean and his wife Marjorie Content Toomer later became members of Buckingham Friends Meeting; Jean was active with Friends General Conference, Marjorie was an administrative assistant at BFS, and Marjorie’s granddaughter-in-law Nancy Sandberg worked at BFS for decades as a teacher and administrator. When Rich and his family moved to Bucks County, they became members of Doylestown Monthly Meeting.
Friends have said that the Friends education community lost a giant. His work is remembered by those who knew him.
A public celebration of Rich’s life will be held at Buckingham Friends Meeting on Saturday, November 22, at 2:00 p.m. Friends will gather for a memorial meeting for worship, followed by a reception. All are welcome to take part and share in remembering his life.
RICHARD LEETE ELDRIDGE ● JUNE 8, 1940 – OCTOBER 3, 2025
It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Richard Leete Eldridge on Friday, October 3, 2025, at the age of eighty-five.
Rich is survived by his wife of twenty-six years Rosaria (Roe) Golden, stepdaughters Ria and Nora, daughter Susan (Seward) and son David (Lisa), former spouse Lucy, five grandchildren (Ruthanne, Lucy, Ember, Bee, and Jamie), sister Muriel, niece Kerry and nephew Ross, as well as a great niece and two great nephews.
In his career, Rich served as the Head of School for Buckingham Friends School in Lahaska, Pennsylvania, Friends Seminary in New York City, and The Willow School in Peapack-Gladstone, New Jersey. He had multiple roles at the Community College of Baltimore: Harbor Campus Director of Operations, Assistant Dean of Faculty in the Division of Humanities and English Professor. He taught English at Seisen University in Tokyo, Japan in 1965-1966 after beginning his career teaching English at Diamond Junior High in Lexington, Massachusetts. Rich served on numerous Boards, including for Friends Academy in Locust Valley, New York (where he also served as Interim Head of School for one year), Oakwood Friends School in Poughkeepsie, New York, Pennswood Village in Newtown, Pennsylvania, and Friends Journal in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His Board service for Baltimore Friends School was his first leadership position in Quaker education, and he was very active in the Friends Council of Education.
After retiring from The Willow School at the age of sixty-five, Rich became an adjunct professor at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey where he taught remedial writing and grammar to incoming first-year students. He also
served as a consultant to The Hudson School in Hoboken, New Jersey and Westbury Friends School in Westbury, New York as they prepared for new leadership.
After surviving a stroke in January 2009, Rich continued to make an impact on the lives of those around him. He served as a volunteer for the Westchester Martin Luther King, Jr. Institute for Nonviolence, and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Freedom Library in White Plains, New York, where he curated new books on social justice, equity, and inclusion for the library’s collection.
Rich was a scholarly man, having earned a B.A., English from Oberlin College, an M.Ed., English from Cornell University, and a Ph.D., American Literature at the University of Maryland. He was a prolific writer in multiple genres. The book he co-authored with Cynthia Earl Kerman, The Lives of Jean Toomer: A Hunger for Wholeness (1987) was considered for a Pulitzer Prize in Biography; his publications also include numerous articles, stories, and poems. Rich scripted an operetta about Gabriel Prosser’s 1800 rebellion against slavery and seven musicals that were performed at Buckingham Friends School. The first of these, The Frog Prince, was reprised at Friends Seminary.
Over the course of his joyful educational, social justice and artistic work, Rich served thousands of students and their families, faculty and staff members, and their communities.
A private service is being held in Jersey City on Saturday, November 15 and will be followed by a public celebration of Rich’s life at Buckingham Friends Meeting on Saturday, November 22 at 2:00 pm. A memorial Meeting for Worship will be followed by a reception with light refreshments. Please spread the word so that everyone has an opportunity to attend.
Celebration will be streaming here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7743958188?pwd=RVpJekRaYWxnVjFVcGg0d3NXNE1OQT09&omn=87416936607; Meeting ID: 774 395 8188; Passcode: 516666
Visit – and contribute to – memorial site by entering “Eldridge” then scrolling down to the bottom of the page using this link: https://neptunesociety.com/obituaries
