Richard Leete Eldridge, who was principal of Buckingham Friends School from 1981 to 1989, passed away last week. Rich came to BFS from the Community College of Baltimore and departed to become head of Friends Seminary in New York.
During his eight years at the school, Rich made everyone laugh, work, and think. He saw the school through a successful state accreditation (with a memory of his having sod, that he cut and transported from his own backyard, laid on the upper field just before the evaluation team arrived). A historian: he wrote several chapters of the school's early history, which were published in the BFS History at the school's bicentennial.
He initiated a Russian language program at BFS, which led to a school-to-school exchange with School 213 in Leningrad, which led to the creation of the JEM program. He began the Russian language program at the height of the Cold War because he thought future generations in Russia and the U.S. ought to be able to talk to each other.
He wrote a play nearly every year for our community, in which we acted or were in the audience: The Frog Prince (reprised off off off Broadway at Friends Seminary!), The Sorcerer's Black Shoe, Saloon, Getting There, Aesop, Circus for Sale, and BFS Blues.
Rich made others laugh! Good humor prevailed in those days, and it started with Rich being able to laugh at himself (a fond memory of Rich was him walking around with a large, stuffed gorilla under his arm on Pet Day). He was patient: he always had time to listen to a child or a teacher. Most of all, he was a great friend.
Rich is survived by his family: his wife Roe, and her daughters, Nora and Ria; his son Dave, his wife Lisa, and their children Ember, Bee and Jamie; his daughter Sue ‘83, her husband Seward, and their daughters Ruthanne and Lucy; and his former spouse Lucy.
A lyric Rich wrote for The Frog Prince: “If I part from this world, I won't leave much behind,
But if you think of me once or twice, that would be kind.”
A memorial service for Rich is being planned. Details to follow.