J Richard Lear 1939-2020

Fr Richard Lear, who died with coronavirus in St Peter’s hospital, Chertsey on October 31^st aged 81, was a member of the Josephite order of Catholic priests. Born in 1939, the oldest of six children, Dick was Captain of School at St George’s College, Weybridge, and a good sportsman, stroking the college VIII and awarded his colours for rugby and hockey. He rowed at Fitzwilliam, notably in the 1^st Lent boat in 1964, winning oars.

After Cambridge, he studied at the Katholieke Universitat in Leuven, Belgium. He was ordained in 1970 and taught at St George’s and its prep school Barrow Hills. He spent many years in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he was known as ‘Muntu wa Mvidi Mukulu’, man of God. After a spell in Santa Maria in California, he became parish priest in Addlestone and then Kinson, Bournemouth. He served as Regional and then Superior General of the Josephites, where his quiet leadership restored morale. His last appointment was as chaplain at Emmaus in West Wickham.

Happy in his own company and a man who knew his own mind, Fr Richard was a gifted pastor and his kindly humour, and simple approach in practical as well as spiritual matters, made him deeply loved and trusted. He captured some of the oral traditional tales of the Kuba people and wrote several papers on the lives of the saints. He taught himself to write icons, using traditional techniques. He was a noted bird watcher and in retirement loved nothing better than pottering in the grounds of St George’s, planting trees and bringing life back into the woods and streams.