Richard Passero, PhD

Richard N. (Dick) Passero, PhD, longtime resident of Madison, formerly of Kalamazoo, Michigan, passed away at Yale New Haven Hospital on Friday, April 3, 2020. Dick was born in Newark, NJ, on June 18, 1934, son of the late Michael A. Passero and Henrietta (Guarino) Molter. He grew up in Eatontown, NJ, and earned a Bachelors' degree from Miami University in Oxford, OH, where he was a member of Sigma Chi (Alpha Chapter). He served in the Army Airborne in Germany prior to earning his Masters' degree from Miami and his PhD from Indiana University. He spent time mapping the Yukon River tributaries in Alaska with the U.S. Geological Survey before becoming a professor of geology for Western Michigan University (WMU), where he was a pioneer in environmental and hydrogeology studies. He served on the Michigan Environmental Review Board, authored numerous geology publications, and founded the Water Sciences Institute at WMU before retiring as a professor emeritus. He created groundwater simulation models that are currently in use in schools and museums around the country. He moved to Madison in 1998, and was a former member of the Madison Art Society, Shoreline Arts Alliance and the Madison Lions Club and had recently been actively involved in the Academy School Community Center project. Dick was an avid golfer, an award-winning watercolorist, and enjoyed yearly trips to Walt Disney World with his adoring granddaughter. He was the beloved husband of Virginia Buckley Passero for 59 years, the loving father of Kathy Passero, father-in-law of Greg Dutter, and grandfather of Darby Dutter. He will stay in our hearts forever. Due to the recent pandemic, services will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to the charity of your choice. Guilford Funeral Home, Guilford, CT. www.guilfordfuneralhome.com