Richard Poole

Richard Poole

AGE: 74 • Wilmington

Richard Eldredge Poole, age 74, of Wilmington, Delaware, died on April 24, 2015 at his home in Henlopen Acres, Delaware.

Mr. Poole was a graduate of Wilmington Friends School, 1958; Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, B.A. with high honors, 1963; and the University of Chicago Law School, J.D., 1966. Poole spent the 1960-61 school year at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

After graduating law school, Poole returned to Delaware and served as Law Clerk to Judge Collins J. Seitz, 1966-67, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Poole joined the Wilmington law firm Potter Anderson and Corroon LLP as an associate in 1967, became a partner in 1972, and served as chair of the firm from 1997-1999. Poole was a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, inducted October 1999.

A lifelong art lover and collector who specialized in Delaware artists, Mr. Poole and his wife Elisa opened AerieArt Gallery -- first in Wilmington and then in Rehoboth Beach -- after he retired from the practice of law in 2000.

Throughout his career, Poole devoted time to charitable and community organizations, serving as President of Planned Parenthood of Delaware, President of the Delaware Historical Society, President of the Rotary Club of Wilmington, and Vice President of the Rehoboth Beach Historical Society. Mr. Poole was an advocate for the arts for many years and served as Trustee of the Biggs Museum of American Art; Trustee and Vice President of the Rehoboth Art League; Collections Committee member for the Delaware Art Museum; and Governing Board member and Board of Overseers of the Delaware College of Art and Design. Both Richard and Elisa Poole were honored with the Kandler Award, its highest honor, by the ACLU of Delaware.

Mr. Poole is survived by his wife of 51 years, Elisabeth Stroud Poole; children Tina Poole Johnson of Silver Spring, MD, Kirsten Poole of Silver Spring, MD, and Edward Poole of Washington, DC; eight grandchildren (Emmy and Zoe Johnson; Hunter, Eleanor and Henry Shippey; and Max, Ben and Rose Poole); and his brothers, William Poole and Stephen Poole, and sister Virginia Poole Bainbridge.

Mr. Poole's life will be celebrated at a memorial service on Saturday, May 16, 2015, at 1 PM in the meeting room at the Wilmington Friends Lower School.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the William Poole Family Fund at the Delaware Community Foundation, PO Box 1636, Wilmington, DE 19899, http://delcf.org/fund/william-poole-family-fund/.

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