Richard “Dick” Mason, 87, of Orange, passed away peacefully on Feb. 28, 2016, at his home.He was predeceased by his wife of 58 years, Abigail Kramer Mason. Born on Feb. 5, 1929, in New Haven, he was the son of the late Alfred G. and Clementina Mason.
He held a civil engineering degree from UConn, and an MBA from the University of New Haven, where he was recognized as a Distinguished Alumnus. Mr. Mason worked at Bridgeport Brass Division of National Distillers and Chemical Corp., International Silver and MITE Corp. Over his career, he was awarded 12 patents.
He retired in 1991 as president and COO of Preston Engravers in Windsor. He was also Acting Town Engineer and Director of Public Works in Orange. He was a registered professional engineer for more than 50 years and ran an engineering consulting practice, designing churches, schools, offices and other buildings. He designed and built the house that was his residence for more than 59 years. Mr. Mason was very active in town and community affairs.
He was a founding member and former president of the Orange Historical Society, and past president of the Rotary Club of Orange. He was chairman of the Bicentennial Commission, which sponsored the first Orange Country Fair. He held offices in the Orange Historic District Commission, the Orange Republican Town Committee and the Orange Affordable Housing Program.
With a love of colonial and military history, he lectured at many schools and civic, historical, and patriotic groups on historical subjects. He was honored for his historical research by being elected a Fellow of the Company of Military Historians. He was a member of the Rogers Island Historical Association, the Connecticut League of Historical Societies, the Greater New Haven Archaeological Society, and was the cannoneer for the Ancient Mariners of Connecticut.
He researched and authored “The Quiet Patriot: Colonel Return Jonathan Meigs and edited The Diary of Jabez Fitch, 1757” and “The 1777 Journal of Robert Treat.” He wrote numerous newspaper articles on history, as well as the 100-word history of Orange on the State Historical Plaque at the Town Hall.
Mr. Mason is survived by his three children, a daughter, Bonnie Mason, and her husband, Alfred Chock, and two sons, Richard Mason Jr., and his wife, Mary Milewski, and Seth Mason, and his wife, Kirsten.
He is also survived by 9 grandchildren: Nicholas Mason, Alfred and Lee Chock, Hunter, Ethan and Madeline Mason and Kai, Maren and Eden Milewski-Mason. He is also survived by his nephew, Randall White. He was predeceased by his sister, Geraldine White.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, March 5, 2016, at 10 a.m. at Holy Infant Church in Orange 450 Racebrook Road. Orange, CT 06477. Interment to follow at Orange Center Cemetery. There are no calling hours.
Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the CODY-WHITE FUNERAL HOME 107 Broad Street, Milford, CT 06460.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Michael J. Fox Foundation![]()
for Parkinson’s Research, P.O. Box 5014, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5014, or to the Orange Historical Society, P.O. Box 784, Orange, CT 06477.
To leave online condolences and to view the complete obituary, visit www.codywhitefuneralservice.com.
