Richard L. Booth
Canandaigua - Richard L. Booth, age 91, passed away peacefully at home on Monday, April 20, 2026. He is survived by four children, Richard (Roxanne) Booth Jr. of Charlottesville, VA, Karen (Rusty) Skinner of Fuquay-Varina, NC, Sarah (Benton) Hart of Brockport, and Marsha Booth of Brockport; his grandchildren whom he adored, Richard “JT” (Chisa) Booth of Tokyo, Japan, Morgan and Rachel “Kellie” Booth of Charlottesville, VA, Jasmine Hart of Paris, France, Madeleine Hart of Brockport, NY, and Vander Hart of Albany, NY; and brother, Douglas (Brenda) Booth of Sun City, Florida.
Richard was born to Kathryn Mundy Booth and Lloyd Henry Booth on August 21, 1934, in Plainfield, NJ. Upon graduation from Brockport High School in 1952, he attended Syracuse University for two years. In 1954, he joined the Navy and served for 8 years (4 years active duty and 4 years reserves). He attended night school and earned a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Rochester in 1963.
Richard married Sarah “Sally” Searles of Geneva, NY, in 1957, and they had four children while living in Brockport, NY. He owned and operated Booth of Brockport Insurance from 1958 until merging it with Caswell Perry in 1973 to form The Brockport Agency. In 1980, he sold his interest and moved to Cary, NC, where he continued working in insurance and then transitioned to real estate sales and management.
In 1994, Richard returned to NY and lived in Bristol Harbor Village for 17 years. He served on the BHVA board for 6 years (2 as president) and was Commodore of Bristol Cliffs Yacht Club. He worked as a real estate broker for 20+ years, eventually retiring from Mitchell-Pierson Realtors. In 2011, Richard moved to The Canandaigua Villas and lived most of his last years on Cheshire Glen Rd.
Throughout his life, Richard found opportunities to serve his communities through board positions, fundraising committees, and volunteer work and received numerous awards and recognition for his efforts. He particularly enjoyed his work and friendships developed with the First Baptist Church of Brockport, Bristol Valley Theatre, Sweden Clarkson Recreation Foundation, and Bristol Harbour Village Association.
Richard was an outstanding athlete at Brockport High School, lettering in four sports: football, basketball, baseball, and track. As a young adult, he used his love for sports to create opportunities for others. Richard was the founder of Pop Warner Football in Brockport; he brought T-Ball to the community and was a coach at several levels of baseball for over 10 years. Later, he enjoyed watching and encouraging his grandchildren as they learned to enjoy a wide range of sports. Richard loved college athletics and especially rooted for Cornell, Syracuse, and UVA. He was a Dodger fan his whole life and a Cowboys fan who saw them win the 1971 Super Bowl in person. Most recently, he became a Bills Mafia member and found much joy watching the Bills play with friends at the Community Center in the Villas.
Richard loved to travel for work and for pleasure. He traveled to most of the fifty states, Canada, nine European countries, six Asian countries, many of the Caribbean islands, and Mexico. He was a certified SCUBA diver and a licensed Instrument Rated Private Pilot and once flew his family across the country. There are many tales of adventure in his Piper Cherokee Six.
Richard was an enthusiastic reader and kept a detailed log of the nearly 2,000 books that he completed. He particularly enjoyed discussing books on a wide range of topics with family and friends. When his oldest grandson was reading the Harry Potter series, Richard made sure to read them too so that they could discuss plots and characters in detail!
In 1996, Richard met and began a special 30-year relationship with Renata Reber of Canandaigua. They shared many travels and family celebrations together, and her family became his family too. Her sons Douglas (Karen), Derek, and Stuart (Seana), and her grandchildren Sydney, Reilly, and Henry brought great love and joy to his later years. Sydney and Ryan’s son Patrick was welcomed as his first great-grandson two years ago.
His memorial service will be held Saturday, May 2, at 2 pm, at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 183 N. Main St., Canandaigua, with light refreshments in the lobby after the service. Interment will be in Garland Cemetery, Brockport. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Bristol Valley Theatre, 151 S. Main St., Naples, NY 14512, or Light Hill (comfort care home), 5160 Parrish St., Ext., Canandaigua, NY 14424. Arrangements are by Johnson-Kennedy Funeral Home, Inc., Canandaigua. Condolences may be offered at www.johnsonkenndy.com.