WESTPORT — Richard Rauh, a longtime town resident who later in life gained distinction as a painter focused on botanical subjects, as well as an art teacher, died Oct. 9. He was 98.

He also was a published author, taught classes at the New York Botanical Garden and Westport Center for Senior Activities, and earned both doctoral and master’s degrees in plant science after retirement.

Rauh was active well into his 90s, and as recently as last December, his artwork was showcased in a special exhibit at the Westport Library.

Following is his obituary submitted for the family by the Abraham L. Green and Son Funeral Home in Fairfield.

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Richard Allen Rauh, 98, of Westport, passed away on Oct. 9, 2023, at his Westport home where he was in hospice care due to a number of ailments. 

His parents were Lester and Florence Rauh, of Brooklyn, N.Y., and he had no siblings. Richard was married to Harriette Lyford for 66 years before she passed away in 2018. He is survived by his daughter Helen and his two sons Daniel and David; his grandchildren Marshall, Dustin, Joshua, Andrew and Chester Glenn; his stepdaughter Sarah Cotner, and his great-grandchildren Reece and Ivy.

Richard, better known to his friends, family and associates as Dick Rauh, attended primary school in Brooklyn and then was accepted to and attended the High School of Music and Art in Manhattan, N.Y. He served in the Navy as a communications officer and earned his BA at Hobart College and studied at the Art Students League.  

Richard then began a long career as an animator, artist and eventually an art director in the New York film industry. Richard was the art director and part-owner of the Optical House, a motion picture effects and editing business, and met and worked with people such as Woody Allen, Brian DePalma and many others. 

While still an employee in his earlier years he was, for a time, the president of the New York screen cartoonist union and after he became an employer continued to work with the union to assist setting up an annuity for union members. As one-time president of the animation community organization, ASIFA east, he traveled to and judged at festivals all over the world. While at the Optical House, Richard worked on countless films and television ads, and did pro bono work for public television shows such as “Sesame Street” and “The Electric Company.”

After retiring, he attended a flower drawing course at the New York Botanical Garden that Harriette signed them up for and that led to him eventually getting his doctorate in botany from Lehman College. His love of the beauty and science of plants led him to creating and teaching a course in plant morphology at the NYBG, and he served as president of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators and the American Society of Botanical Artists. He has botanical paintings in permanent collections at the Hunt in Pittsburgh and London’s Lindley Library, and has won the golden award at an exhibition at the Royal Horticultural Society, also in London.  

Richard’s retrospective art exhibition, held at the Westport Library just last year, drew a record crowd of friends and admirers. He is also a featured character in a recently made short video documentary called “Below Surface,” about the aquafitter class he had been attending for many years, which has won awards at several film festivals. 

Richard continued teaching online until just a few short weeks before his passing and expressed that of all his accomplishments he felt that teaching was both the most important and the most gratifying for him. He was loved universally by his students and all those who had the good fortune to know him. 

A funeral service will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 11, at 1 p.m. at Temple Israel, 14 Coleytown Road. Burial will take place privately. For more information and to share condolence messages, visit www.greensfuneralhome.com.