Richard A. Hanson, 86

U.S. Marines

April 8, 1936 - May 19, 2022

Richard Arthur Hanson, “Dick,” died on May 19 from Parkinson’s disease. He lived most of his life in Fair Lawn, Wyckoff, Skillman, and Princeton.

Dick was born April 8, 1936 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After eight years there, his family moved to Bergen County, where he met his high school sweetheart, and later wife, Carol Jadick, while walking home from fourth grade.

He graduated from Fair Lawn High School, then earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Cornell University in 1958. After four years in ROTC, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps where he served in the 1st Marines Division, 5th Regiment based at Camp Pendleton, CA, where his son Craig was born.

Dick next joined the Chase Manhattan Bank, where he spent 18 years rising to become the youngest executive appointed to senior vice president. The family settled in Wyckoff, where son Alex was born. Dick served in many roles, including as head of all the New York City retail branches, and later as head of all middle-market lending. Dick then joined Merrill Lynch.

Dick and Carol soon moved to Skillman, where he held a number of executive positions including head of industrial lease financing (which when sold accounted for 25 percent of Merrill’s earnings one quarter) and building and leading the Working Capital Management Account business, WCMA, which is still a major Merrill product group. Dick was widely respected as a strong, successful leader and mentor to many aspiring colleagues.

As members of the Nantucket Angler’s Club, Bedens Brook Club, and Nantucket Golf Club, he was a sportsman, particularly in golf, fishing, and shooting.

Dick retired around the age of 60 and focused on these things. He loved introducing people to fishing for bass and bluefish on the beaches of Nantucket, and took great interest in a wide range of people. In his once Midwestern fashion, he always said hello to everyone he passed or met anywhere.

He is survived by his wife of 64 years, and two children, Craig and Alex and their spouses, Liz and Laura, as well as six grandchildren and two great grandchildren. A celebration of his life will be held privately.■