Devoted husband, cherished father, grandfather, brother and uncle, passed away at Mount Sinai Hospital after a full and satisfying life. Richard leaves behind his loving wife Shu-yi (née Wang), and younger brother, Sebastian. He was a loving father to John (Chantal Whelan), Ernest, Cindy, and Shirley (Dean D'Mello) and proud grandfather to Blaise, Auguste, Clémence and Jett.

Richard was born and raised in Nanjing, China and later attended Zhongxing University in Taiwan for his undergraduate degree. He came to Canada in 1956 as a student to attend the University of Guelph and was awarded his Masters Degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Toronto in 1959. He spent the majority of his career with the Ontario Ministry of Health where he contributed to the development of the Ontario Health Insurance Program (OHIP).

After his retirement in 1989, Richard enjoyed his hobbies and did volunteer work with the Chinese Seniors Health and Recreation Association of Ontario. During his long life, Richard was a radio electronics enthusiast in addition to having interests in history, literature, and science. He also had a sharp, dry and brilliant sense of humour. He spent many happy days travelling to new, as well as familiar, places.