Richard J. Silva

1942 - 2018

Richard J. Silva, a lifelong resident of Plymouth, died on May 14, 2018. He is survived by his loving wife, Karen (Reardon) Silva. Born February 25, 1942, he was the son of the late Ernest and Mary (Piava) Silva. A graduate of Dean Jr. College in 1962 with an associate's degree in Education, and received his BS in Education from Boston University in 1962. At both Dean and BU, he was a member of the varsity baseball teams respectively, and a captain of the Dean team. He was also a member of the 1961 Dean Jr. College football team. He received his M.Ed. degree from Northeastern University in 1971 and his Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies from Northeastern in 1979. Richard began his teaching career in the Carver Public Schools in 1964. In 1968 he was appointed Assistant Principal of the L.G. Nourse School in Norton. Shortly thereafter, he was appointed Principal of the Nourse School, and in 1978 he was appointed Supervising Principal of the new J.C. Somonese Elementary School. In 1980, Richard went to Plymouth as the Principal of Federal Furnace Elementary School. ln 1985, he was appointed as Assistant Superintendent of Schools until his retirement in 2002. Richard also served as Adjunct Instructor at both Quincy College and Endicott College and was a member of numerous professional organizations. He was a member of the Plymouth Rotary Club and served on the Board of Directors of the Plymouth YMCA until his recent death. He also served 3 terms on the Plymouth School Committee from 1970-1979 and served on numerous committees in Plymouth over the years. He was inducted into the Plymouth Sports Hall of Fame and the Cranberry League Hall of Fame in its first year after playing baseball 20 years. He was the beloved father of Denise Sablone and her husband Vincent, Susan Harvey and Kerri Jenkins and her husband Brian, and stepdaughters Kristin Coletti and her husband Joseph, and Alison Vachon and her husband Thomas. He was the beloved brother of Roger Silva and the late Robert Silva; and the cherished grandfather of Michael Coletti, Douglas Harvey, Harrison Jenkins, Casey Coletti, Isabella Harvey, Emily Jenkins, Jake Vachon and Jesse Sablone. A funeral Mass will be celebrate on Thursday, May 17, at 10 a.m. in St. Peters Church in Plymouth. Visiting hours in the Cartmell Funeral Home 150 Court St., Plymouth (downtown), on Wednesday, May 16, from 4-7 p.m. Memorial donations in his name may be made to Strong Kids Campaign Plymouth Branch-Camp Clark, Old Colony YMCA, 200 Hedges Pond Rd., Plymouth, MA 02360 or Cranberry Hospice, 36 Cordage Park Circle, Suite 326, Plymouth, MA 02360. For more info and online guest book, please visit www.cartmelldavis.com.