<< Back to Lion December 2020 homepage
Obituaries
Richard Harcourt (OW1948)
17/09/1931 – 09/04/2020
Richard Harcourt started at Wesley College in 1943. He loved his time at Wesley. It was a warm and welcoming community and felt like family, especially since he was there at the same time as his cherished first cousins Geoff Harcourt (OW1949), John Harcourt (OW1948) and Graeme Sloman (OW1944).
Richard made lifelong friends at Wesley. Many of them have sadly passed on, but some such as David Kingston (OW1948) and Robin Levy (OW1948) were at his bedside to the very end. He stayed in touch with the OWCA through an unwavering appreciation of OWCA Cross Country afternoon teas, reunion dinners and monthly lunches with school friends.
Richard had many great loves: his wife Alison, a mathematician and statistician, his children, Pierre and Leonie (OW1990) and his grandchildren, Alice and Niko. But he also had a more esoteric love in the form of Theoretical Physical Chemistry. He taught at the University of Melbourne for 30 years and published more than 200 articles about chemistry. His main focus was Increased Valence Bond Theory, a concept he developed to provide a pictorial approach to Chemical Bonding.
Richard was well known for his jokes and goodwill. He was a diehard St Kilda Football Club supporter and keen cricketer. He believed strongly in environmental causes and human rights. Throughout his life he continued with reforestation work, advocating for Amnesty, ANTaR and refugees. The seeds of his passion for egalitarianism were planted by the social justice principles he learned at Wesley. Richard proves that good and gentle people can win and have great lives.
Contributed by Leonie Harcourt (OW1990). Portrait by Richard’s 12-year-old granddaughter, Alice.