Richard Doremus Tietjen Jr.

TIETJEN, Richard Doremus Richard Doremus Tietjen Jr. was born in Atlanta, GA on February 2, 1952 and only later when his family moved to New England did he enjoy the renown of being born on Ground Hog Day. Even as a baby and toddler he showed a huge delight in the natural world and looked outside the window at age three to ask his mother to come look at the cowboys on the grass, meaning of course the cobwebs. It seemed inevitable that he would become a poet. He spent his first 11 years in Amherst, MA, living on a farm where nature and space nurtured his poetic vision. The family moved to Old Saybrook, in 1963 and he was always ahead of the librarians in trying out more mature literature than they were ready to allow him to read. He attended the Taft School where he was a Greek scholar, hurdler and like many other lads at the school joined in the aquarian celebration at Woodstock in 1969. He attended Amherst College where he majored in English, graduating cum laude and winning the poetry prize for his class. During the next seven years he followed his bliss writing poetry and working in farms and forests in southern Vermont and New Hampshire. He returned to Shoreline Connecticut in 1982 and settled into a challenging and pleasurable job as a computer engineer for Dushkin Publishers and then McGraw Hill. Seeking to use his computer knowledge for his own social concerns he developed a web site for the Shoreline Greenway Trail project and was active in the project from the beginning. He became a member of the Guilford Peace Alliance where he was known for reciting his poetry at their weekly vigils. He also was active in various poetry groups including the Art Place and the Yale Medical Group which published poems of his in their annual publication, Caduceus, which helps patients to share their poetry and helps them to share their common humanity, feelings and insights with each other. Richard's courageous 14 year fight against lymphoma was remarkable and strengthened his own compassion towards family, friends and the world as they showed their love and affection for him. He had a gentle departure on April 20th surrounded by family and friends. He leaves his parents, Louise and Richard Tietjen, as well as his brother Ramsey and wife Toni along with three nieces: Rachel, Chloe and Erika and his sister Sarah, her husband Richard and their children Nathaniel and Olivia. A memorial service will take place on Saturday, April 25th at 1 p.m. at the Shoreline Unitarian Universalist Society, 297 Boston Post Road, Madison, CT. For directions you may call 203-245-8720. Instead of flowers, people may send contributions to: The Neighborhood Music School at 100 Audubon St in New Haven, or the Shoreline Greenway Trail, PO Box 148, Branford, Ct 06405 or to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Foundation.