MILLERTON — Many turned out at the Millerton Presbyterian Church last Wednesday morning to bid farewell to Richard "Dick" Weinstein, who died on Dec. 29 at the home of his daughter, Susan, in Ludlow, Mass.
Weinstein was born Sept. 4, 1927 in Sharon. He graduated from Housatonic Regional High School and Union University Albany College of Pharmacy, where he received his degree in 1953.
After enlisting in the U.S. Army Blue Devil 88th Division, Weinstein served on the ski troop in Triest and was later sent to the Lido Island in Italy, where he was stationed at the Rest Center in charge of civilian labor.
Weinstein worked at the Amenia Pharmacy and Strong’s Drug Store, which he purchased in 1955 and renamed the North East Rexall Pharmacy.
He worked there until last November, when he retired.
While he was employed in Amenia, Weinstein met Augusta Schultz, whom he later married.
Weinstein was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, the Millerton Lions Club and the Village Board of Trustees.
Augusta died on April 30, 2001.
The funeral, which was followed by interment at Irondale Cemetery, was officiated by Rev. Nancy Thornton McKenzie.
Thornton McKenzie, who began the service by reading from Psalm 121, reflected on Weinstein’s life, first focusing on his time in Italy.
"Dick was always a precocious fellow," the pastor reminisced. "Some of his superiors asked him if he knew Italian; he didn’t know the language at all. However, he studied an Italian dictionary for 10 hours straight and he impressed his superiors. They said, ‘Your Italian is good but you’re a bit rusty.’"
McKenzie also spoke of Weinstein’s relationship with his wife, Augusta.
"Dick was the wind beneath her wings. They didn’t have arguments, they rationally went back and forth," Thornton McKenzie said. "When they danced, they became one."
When McKenzie finished, a country ditty, with lyrics like, "We’re forever in love" and "Someday, we’ll be together forever," played over the church speakers.
When Weinstein’s son, Jeffrey, was in high school, he took his father’s car out for a spin and cracked the windshield.
"Dick said, ‘What happened? I can tell by the look on your face,’" Thornton McKenzie said, adding that Jeffrey was scared his father would reprimand him. "Dick said, ‘I’m married to your mother, not the car.’"
Thornton McKenzie focused on all that Weinstein did for the village during his time here.
Every winter, Weinstein would get up at the crack of dawn and snowblow the sidewalk from the pharmacy to the church.
Many decades ago, a woman came into the pharmacy requesting a special cream.
Weinstein made it and charged her 25 cents, which the price back then.
The cost of the cream rose dramatically over the years. However, the pharmacist continued to sell the product to the woman for a quarter.
One summer day, the air conditioner in the pharmacy shut down. Weinstein climbed to the building’s roof on a ladder and fell off.
"He was hurt badly. The bone was sticking out of his leg," Thornton McKenzie remembered. "He put the ladder and leafblower away and people said, ‘I think you need a ride to the hospital.’ Dick responded, ‘Somebody might need it more than me.’ The accident happened on Friday and Dick was back to work on Monday."
Josh Weinstein took the podium to remember his grandfather, who he said was "always happy."
After Weinstein was diagnosed with liver cancer, he attended one of Josh’s soccer games in Salisbury.
"We lost. When we got back to the pharmacy, my dad asked Dick if he enjoyed the game. Dick said, ‘I didn’t really know what was going on, but I liked it,’" Josh Weinstein reminisced. "I’ll always remember his smiles. He was always happy, except when he was in pain. But I’m sure he’s up there and happy now."
McKenzie ended the service by sharing an anecdote about a queen and a servant.
The queen asked the servant to carry a heavy bag a long distance.
"What did you think was in the bag?" the queen asked.
"I didn’t think about it," the servant responded. "I carried it because you asked me to."
"If I told you it was pure gold, would that have made a difference?" the queen returned.
"Dick carried us in life and now it’s our job to carry on," McKenzie said. "Amen."
In an interview conducted at Weinstein’s retirement party on Nov. 11, the pharmacist said he considered his customers and all of the friends he made in the village his family.
"I love my family," he said that day.
And judging from the large crowd in attendance last Wednesday morning, his "family" loved him back.
Weinstein is survived by his son, Jeffrey, and his wife, Kathi, and grandson, Josh, of Copake; his daughter, Susan; his sister, Millerton’s Mary Lewis; and four nieces.
