Richard Waller Crenshaw

Richard Crenshaw
Obituary
It is with sadness that the family of Richard Waller Crenshaw of Shady Side Maryland announce his death on September 15 at the age of 89. He is survived by his wife Maggie Sansone, his two sons Waller and Ben, four grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren. A graveside service for family and close friends will be held on Saturday, November 9th @ 1:00, at Christ Episcopal Church in West River Maryland. A reception from 2-4:00 to celebrate his life will follow.
Born in Florida, Richard grew-up in the Kalorama Circle section of Washington DC, attended Landon School and lived most of his life in the DC metro area. He also lived in California and Hawaii for a time. He had a great love of water, serving in the Navy before putting down roots near the Chesapeake Bay; first in Annapolis and later in Shady Side Maryland on the bay.
Richard studied architecture and received a degree from the University of Virginia in 1963, later earning a master's in environmental architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. His career included being on the design team for the planned communities of Reston Virginia and Columbia Md. He worked as a researcher for the Department of Energy and the National Bureau of Standards in Gaithersburg Md as well as at their lab at UC Berkley. He was an advocate for sustainable building practices and taught architectural studies at Florida A&M university. He expressed his ideas in the design and construction of his personal residence; an energy efficient home of notoriety, that was well ahead of its time, overlooking the West River where he lived the last 30 years of his life.
A seaman at heart, Richard truly loved the Chesapeake Bay and its back-waters, estuaries and islands. He spent countless hours sailing, kayaking and gathering data to protect water quality. He also had a special love of plants and nature, was an avid year-round gardener and grower of exotic indoor plants. Richard also had a lifelong interest in religious studies and among other pursuits followed the teachings G.I. Gurdjieff and that of Vietnamese Buddhist master Thich Nhat Hanh. In 2007, after years of practice, he was ordained as a Buddhist priest into the Order of Inner Being at the Blue Cliff monastery in New York state; he was involved with and led meditation groups in the DC area until the end of his life. He was also an active member of Christ Episcopal Church in West River Md.
Together with his wife and musician Maggie Sansone, Richard helped manage the well-known folk and Celtic music label "Maggie's Music" which continues to this day.
• Service: 1:00, November 9th @ Christ Episcopal Church, 220 Owensville Rd, West River, MD
• Reception: 2:00-4:00, Stan and Joe's Riverside, 4851 Riverside DR, Galesville, MD
In lieu of Flowers, a memorial contribution can be made to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, a cause close to his heart.