Richard B. Blumstein

1941 - 2024

Richard Blumstein passed away on March 14, 2024. Richard was born in Brooklyn, NY on January 25, 1941, to Sidney and Lillian Blumstein. He is survived by his devoted wife of 60 years, Beatrice, son Stephen Blumstein, daughter Leigh Cooper, granddaughter Tessa Cooper, brother Kenneth Blumstein (Meris), and sister, Maura Geils (Rob). Richard attended Rutgers University, graduating in 1962 with a BA Degree in American Civilization.
Following college, Richard joined the Air Force and completed Officer Training School (OTS). During his Air Force career, he served in Viet Nam, Thailand, and Korea, as well as bases in the U.S. While assigned to Offutt AFB in Omaha, NB, Richard was very involved in The Russian Order of Battle Analysis, followed by two assignments to the Defense Intelligence Agency, where he worked closely with the CIA in the development of National Intelligence Estimates. He also attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, earning an MA in Business Management in 1978. Upon Richard's retirement from the Air Force in 1982, he joined SAIC as a Senior Analyst, Theatre Systems and Operations Division. He became chief of Strategic Offensive Arms Elimination (SOAE), resulting in the dismantling of nuclear delivery systems. He considered this one of his major accomplishments.
Richard was always active in his community. He received much pleasure from his volunteer activities, including seven years on the Western Montgomery Citizens Advisory Board, the Board of The Bethesda Urban Partnership, President of the Regency Estates Citizens Association, Election Judge for the Montgomery County Board of Elections, and soccer coach for over 25 years, including coaching for Montgomery Soccer, Inc. — his favorite pastime. He enjoyed teaching the children the skills of the game. In later years, Richard was also a member of JWV Post-692. He was an avid reader, especially of books related to history. He had an amazing proclivity for retaining all kinds of information. Above all, Richard was a generous and caring husband, father, and grandfather.
Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, March 19 at 1 p.m. in the chapel at Judean Memorial Gardens Cemetery, 16225 Batchellors Forest Road, Olney, MD 20832, with burial to follow. Shiva will be at the family residence from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m that evening, with a service at 7 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made in Richard's name to the Rutgers University Foundation in support of the Richard B. Blumstein Endowed Scholarship, P.O. Box 193, New Brunswick, NJ 08903-0193.