Fall 2012 Issue - Colby-Sawyer College

In Memoriam
Trustee Emeritus, War Hero
Richard M. Underwood
by Kimberly Swick Slover
114 Colby-Sawyer College Magazine
T
rustee Emeritus
Richard M. “Dick”
Underwood
passed away
peacefully,
surrounded by his
family, at home in Palm
City, Fla., on June 22. A
seasonal New London
resident, Mr. Underwood
served on the Colby-
Sawyer College Board of
Trustees from 1992 to
2001.
Trustee Emeritus Richard Underwood will be
remembered for his sense of humor, humility, caring
nature and perseverance.
As a member of the
Board of Trustees,
Mr. Underwood served on
a variety of committees,
including the Audit
Subcommittee, Enrollment
Management, Finance
and the Investment
Subcommittee, which he
chaired from 1996 to 2001.
A graduate of the
Coast Guard Academy,
Mr. Underwood served
as an aviator in the Coast
Guard for 10 years and
performed many rescue
missions, including six
trips on May 6, 1954, to
airlift 36 injured seamen
from the USS Bennington
to safety. He retired from
the Coast Guard with the
rank of commander.
Until his retirement in
1990, he was the president
and CEO of NEC Technologies,
a business he
began with a handful of
employees and developed
into a $1.2 billion computer
and communications
company.
Mr. Underwood was
passionate about his
family, golf, poker, sailing
and bridge. He will be
remembered for his sense
of humor, humility, caring
nature and perseverance.
“Dick was a wonderful
man and a great friend of
Colby-Sawyer,” President
Tom Galligan said. “Whenever
he was in town he
would make sure to stop
by, say hello and catch up
with the college. Dick
always had a smile on his
face and fond words for
Colby-Sawyer.”
He is survived by his
second wife, Jane Underwood,
of Palm City, Fla.;
son Richard Underwood
and his wife, Suzanne, of
Concord, Mass.; another
son, Steven Underwood,
and his wife, Trish, of
Acton, Mass.; and daughter
Carol Underwood
Femia and her husband,
David, of Groton, Mass.
He was predeceased by his
wife of 38 years, Nancy
Merritt Underwood ’50,
who died in 1991.
Memorial contributions
may be made to Lake
Sunapee Region VNA and
Hospice, P.O. Box 2209,
New London, N.H. 03257.