Obituary of Richard "Dick" Ireland

Richard “Dick” Ireland, 87, passed away on March 29, 2022 at home with his family. Born on 06/04/1934 to his late parents George and Louise Ireland in South Attleboro, MA., the 2nd of 6 children, predeceased by his brothers George “Mickey” Ireland, John “Johnny” Ireland and his sister Mildred “Midge” Phillips. Survived by two of his sisters Dorothy Jo “Dotty Jo” Bray (Jimmy Bray) and Alma Jean “Happy” Proia (Rocky Proia). He also leaves behind his loving wife of 62 years, Cynthia C. Ireland, 4 children; Richard S. Ireland (Scott M. Robbins), Tracy L. Ireland, Christopher J. Ireland and Laura J. McRay (Richard C. McRay) and his daughter-in-law Maureen E. Ireland. His beloved grandchildren; Cynthia Schroeder (Reinhart Schroeder III), Lindsay Ireland, Dustin McRay, Catherine Ireland, Megan Ireland, Caroline Welles, Christine Thiessen (Christopher Thiessen), Matthew Welles and 10 great grandchildren. Affectionately known by all as “Poppy” he adored his grandchildren and was known to follow school buses on his bicycle, show up for snack time at day cares, volunteer at nursery schools, and be there to watch them when needed - always, all of this and more in his pursuit of making sure his grandchildren always knew how much they were loved. He graduated from Bryant College in 1962 with a BA in accounting and was quicker than a calculator with the math problems, races were had and the calculator lost. He took great pride in his work and providing for his family. He worked full time for his family’s business as he put himself through college; when the business closed he worked for Travelers Insurance in Boston and in 1977 he moved to NY to work for General Electric and continued to work hard and keep himself busy throughout his life- helping family, friends and neighbors whenever the opportunity arrived. He enjoyed playing golf, baking, jigsaw puzzles, reading to his children and grandchildren, trips to Price Chopper, and entertaining guests with his childhood stories.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 9,2022 at 10am at Faith Baptist Church, 11 Glenridge Road Rexford. Burial will follow at Memory Gardens, Colonie. Memorial Contributions can be made to Faith Baptist Church, 11 Glenridge Road Rexford, NY 12148, where he had been a faithful member since 1977.