Richard Gottlieb

SHARON — Richard Gottlieb, 82, passed away at his home on the Green on June 14, 2021, surrounded by his family.

Richard was born April 21, 1939, in New York City, the son of the late Jack and Ruth Gottlieb. He graduated from the University of Vermont in 1960. 

After answering an ad in the Village Voice looking for extra passengers, he traveled across the country to San Francisco, where he launched his publishing career with Wadsworth Publishing. His love for that city started then and continued to the end of his life. 

In the early 1970s, Richard moved back to New York City, where he led divisions of Raytheon Technologies and Macmillan Publishing. In his free time, he took up skydiving as a hobby, performing jumps throughout the Tri-State area at special events.

In 1979 he married his beloved wife, Leslie Mackenzie, and in 1981 they moved to Upper Main Street in Sharon and never left. In 1980 they founded Grey House Publishing, which has grown over 40 years from their kitchen table to a publishing house with offices in New York, New Jersey and Toronto.

Richard was a proud member of the Sharon Volunteer Ambulance squad for three decades. He was a regular at area coffeehouses with his New York Times and black coffee, always happy to strike up conversation and brag about his children.

In addition to his wife, Leslie, Richard is survived by his three children, Peter and his wife, Andrea, of Sudbury, Mass., Nicholas and his wife, Jaime, of Washington, D.C., and Caroline and her husband, David Virenius, of New York, NY. 

He is also survived by his brothers, Michael Gottlieb of Lakeville and Leonard Gottlieb of Somerville, Mass. He was a proud grandfather to Owen, Darcy, Jacob, Maisie and Benjamin Gottlieb.

Memorial donations may be made to the Sharon Volunteer Ambulance, P.O. Box 357, Sharon, CT 06069.  

The Kenny Funeral Home has care of arrangements.