Richard A. Bochinski, Civic Leader

Richard A. Bochinski, a longtime Weston resident, educator, and public servant, passed away peacefully at Norwalk Hospital on May 31, 2026, at the age of 83.

Dick grew up in a Catholic working-class family in Philadelphia. His father co-owned a slipper factory, and his mother worked in a local shop. As a child in the 1950s, he attended Catholic schools, served as an altar boy for eight years, listened to Jean Shepherd on the radio, and spent summers on the shore in Wildwood, New Jersey, a popular resort known for its bustling boardwalk, motels, and music scene. Occasionally, if he could borrow a car, he would venture as far as New York City to listen to jazz. It was during these years that Dick became a lifelong Philadelphia Eagles fan.

A bright student, Dick attended La Salle College High School and became the first member of his family to attend college. With the help of a Pennsylvania state scholarship, he enrolled at Bucknell University in 1961.

At Bucknell, Dick discovered two lifelong passions: the study of history and a fellow student named Pamela Morrison. Pam had recently returned from a year abroad at the University of Edinburgh, and the two quickly bonded over a shared interest in current events and the wider world. They were married in 1964 and soon after moved to North Carolina, where Dick earned a master’s degree in history from the University of North Carolina.

In 1970, Dick accepted a position teaching social studies at Darien High School. Two years later, he and Pam moved to Weston, where they established roots and raised their two children.

Dick devoted his professional life to education. During his 31 years at Darien High School, he taught American History, Economics, Contemporary World History, and U.S. Government and Politics, and twice served as Acting Chair of the Social Studies Department. Committed to lifelong learning, he continued his own studies throughout his career, taking courses in educational administration at the University of Bridgeport and pursuing additional graduate work at the University of Connecticut.

His interest in history and international affairs led him far beyond the classroom. He was selected as a Fulbright Fellow to Israel in 1985 and China in 1992, and as a Japan Foundation Fellow in 1990. In 1994, he was a presenter at the International Social Studies Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. Following his retirement from Darien High School in 2001, Dick continued teaching history at Norwalk Community College, concluding a career in education that spanned four decades.

In addition to raising a family and teaching generations of students, Dick became deeply involved in the civic life of Weston, a community he was proud to call home for more than fifty years.

Beginning with the Weston Youth-Adult Activities Commission in the early 1970s, he devoted countless hours to town government and public service. Over the next five decades, he served in elected and appointed positions on the Board of Finance, Board of Selectmen, Board of Ethics, Board of Assessment Appeals, Board of Education, Charter Revision Commission, and numerous committees and advisory groups. He was especially proud of his work on behalf of the Devil’s Den Preserve and efforts to promote conservation and environmental education in Weston.

As a member of the Board of Selectmen, Dick worked with fellow town leaders on a variety of issues affecting the community, including efforts to preserve open space and improve town facilities. He also worked to improve the Weston Town Green, helping secure state funding for a gazebo project that enhanced the town center without adding to the local tax burden.

During his years on the Board of Education, Dick played a key role in labor relations, serving on the negotiations committee and chairing it for four years. He helped negotiate ten collective bargaining agreements on behalf of Weston Public Schools.

While public service often involved budgets, policies, and long meetings, Dick also enjoyed the lighter side of community life. During Weston’s Bicentennial celebration in 1987, he performed alongside fellow town leaders in the original musical production Take Two—A Made-for-TV Weston and contributed several of its songs. The same year, he and Pam appeared in The Outlivers, a documentary created to commemorate Weston’s 200^th anniversary.

In recognition of his contributions, Dick was named Weston Citizen of the Year in 1991. More than thirty years later, he received the John Hammerslough Lifetime Achievement Award as one of Weston’s Democrats of the Year, honoring a half-century of volunteer service to the town he loved.

Dick and Pam shared a love of travel and spent years exploring the world together, visiting destinations across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Yet they were always happy to return home to Weston, where they spent more than fifty years building a life together.

For Dick, Weston was far more than a place to live. It was where he and Pam raised their family, formed lifelong friendships, and devoted themselves to the community they loved. Following Pam’s death in 2022 after a long battle with cancer, he nonetheless remained intellectually curious, following current events, reading history, and enjoying conversations with former students, friends, and neighbors. He continued to take an active interest in the town, its people, and its future throughout the remainder of his life.

Dick was predeceased by his wife of 58 years, Pamela Drowne Bochinski; his brother, Daniel Bochinski; and his parents, Lawrence and Helen Bochinski. He is survived by his daughter, Elise Bochinski of Weston; his son, Dr. Jason Bochinski of Raleigh, North Carolina; and his granddaughter, Liberty Bochinski.

Friends and neighbors are invited to pay their respects during calling hours on Thursday, June 25, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Harding Funeral Home, 210 Post Road East, Westport.

In lieu of flowers, those wishing to remember Dick may make a contribution to Weston Volunteer EMS, whose dedicated volunteers provide emergency medical services to the Weston community.