In Memoriam
Richard A. Horgan
Dick Horgan passed away on October 22, 2025 in Wilmington, NC. Here are his obituary and also the essay he wrote on the occasion of our 50th Class Reunion in 2014.
Obituary
Dick Horgan
1964 Yale graduation
Richard Allan Horgan, Esq., age 82, of Wilmington, NC passed away peacefully at home of chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) on October 22, 2025. His daughter held his hand as he took his last breath here on earth and his first breath in Heaven.
Richard (Dick) was born in Los Angeles, CA to John J. Horgan and Margaret Coe Horgan. Dick attended Yale University, where he was captain and catcher on the Yale baseball team and once hit 3 home runs in a single game! At Yale he received a full scholarship and graduated in 1964. He then went on to Boalt Law School at Berkeley where he earned his Juris Doctorate Degree in 1967.
Dick Horgan
recently
Dick then spent many years as a corporate litigator in New York City at Winthrop, Stimson, Putnam & Roberts, where he worked on many high-profile cases both nationally and internationally, becoming a young partner in NYC and eventually a managing partner in the firm’s office in Stamford, CT.
After many years with this prestigious law firm, Dick “retired” to Wilmington, NC where he couldn’t sit still for long so dabbled in several new hobby careers such as real estate, landlord, developing a neighborhood in Whispering Pines, NC, and owning a pottery painting studio, Firebird Studio, in The Forum in Wilmington. But, he returned to his love of law with a new focus as a trust and estates attorney, passing the bar again in multiple states once again in his fifties. In this new career, Dick found a passion in helping hundreds if not thousands of clients over the last 25+ years in his private practice and excelling as an expert in this area of the law. Dick never did anything half way. He always put in 150% of himself and his efforts in everything he did, including his career and helping as many individuals and families as he could along the way. He saw it as an honor and a privilege and was determined to treat everyone with dedication and integrity.
Richard Horgan was preceded in death by his adoring wife, Cynthia Horgan who passed just five years prior, parents John J. Horgan and Margaret Coe Horgan, mother-in-law Emilie Smith, and beloved brother John F. Horgan. He is survived by his loving family including his daughter Kirsten J. McLain, pride and joy grandsons Aidan (19), Noah (16), and Caelum (10), as well as his son-in-law Matthew (Brian) McLain. Additionally, he is survived by his sister Margaret Horgan Harms and her husband Charles Harms, nephews Timothy Harms, Christopher Harms and their families as well as sister-in-law Joyce Tischler Horgan and niece Margeve Horgan.
Dick was devoted to his family. His wife, daughter and grandsons were the recipients of the greatest love from a man who only knew how to show them goodness, kindness, and devotion. He was an example to follow, a role model of integrity, Christian love, leadership, morals, and values, and a patriarch to look up to. He was truly loved and will be sorely missed, with the only solace to them that he is no longer ill and is now with his soulmate, dancing once again with Cynthia. Theirs truly was a “one-in-a-million” love, and Dick was a one-in-a-million man whose loss will be felt forever by many.
Dick also was very active in his church, Wrightsville United Methodist Church, serving on several boards over his 30 years with the church. He also taught his adult Sunday School class for more than 20 years. He took part in “The Walk To Emmaus” for several years and truly found a new love for God and Jesus in his new church home. God was good to him there and he was good to God.
Additionally, Dick was an exceptional tennis player. He played tennis throughout his adult life, competing on many teams in many tournaments and was an A player. Nicknamed “The Legend” by his buddies, and later “Smooth Ride,” he played tennis until age 80, when he was diagnosed with CMML, a terminal cancer. He won a lot of matches but was always a good sportsman, valuable teammate, strong leader, and fun to watch. Again, he gave 150% to everything he did, including tennis. He was also an avid art collector, loved to travel the world, read constantly, learn daily, go fishing (he didn’t really catch a lot), spend time with his family, dance with his wife, listen to his favorite music loudly, drive in his convertible, and even write love notes to his wife Cynthia.
There are not enough good things that can be said about Richard Horgan. He was exceptional at everything he was and everything he did. He can be remembered as loving, kind, respectful, brilliant, honorable, strong, moral, Christian, good, devoted, dedicated … a father, a husband, a partner, a friend, a leader, a teammate, a philanthropist, a provider, a caregiver, and most of all a strong and faithful servant. But most importantly he didn’t do all this out of a sense of obligation but rather because he wanted to be that good person in the world. It was in his soul. He will be sorely missed but we won’t be lost without him because he made sure to teach us all how to go on, how to survive, and how to make wise choices in life. He will live on in his family and especially in his daughter and in his grandsons.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his name to Wrightsville United Methodist Church or The Smile Train.
A memorial will be held for Richard Allan Horgan on November 15, 2025 at 11:00am at Wrightsville United Methodist Church in Wilmington, NC, with a reception following. All are welcome.
Essay, 50th Reunion Book
May 2014
I have long known that I have been blessed with a good, rewarding life.
After graduating from Boalt Hall School of Law at Berkeley in 1967, when the free-speech movement morphed into the foul-speech movement, I joined Winthrop Stimson Putnam & Roberts, a wonderful large law firm in Manhattan. I enjoyed my work and prospered in Manhattan. After some 27 years as a litigator, the last 11 of which I lived in Greenwich to manage my firm’s Stamford office, I cashed in at age 50 to see if there was life after law. With Cynthia, the love of my life whom I married in 1981, I moved to Wilmington, NC to enjoy a relaxed lifestyle where I dabbled in real-estate investing, golf, and a lot of tennis. Happily, my daughter Kirsten moved from Stamford to Wilmington after September 11, 2001 to be near us. After a major investment cratered and my golf game floundered, I returned to law as a solo estate-planning attorney. I find that helping folks get their affairs in order is more rewarding than constantly fighting in the adversary system. I enjoy helping people plan for the future.
I have had no health issues at all, so I have been able to remain quite active in a variety of business and social activities. Since moving to Wilmington in 1995, I have become very active in my local church and thankful that Cynthia has helped me grow in my Christian faith.
Wilmington is a terrific place to live, and a great tennis town. I recently became the oldest USTA 4.5 ranked player in town. I still have mobility, quick hands, and can place the ball well, and that helps in tennis at any age.
I have two grandsons, Aidan age 7 and Noah age 5, and am smitten with both. They wear me out, but keep me happy and young.
I am an optimist, but realize our generation has allowed a political class in Washington to run amuck on fiscal and social policy issues, jeopardizing the future of our country for our children and grandchildren. Our parents realized the American dream to give us a better life than they had, but our children’s generation will not see that dream realized for their children. I still work full-time with the “if you use it, you won’t lose it” approach to life, and I hope our country can turn around in time to avoid financial disaster and social upheaval. So, my optimism is a thin veneer at best.
One of my regrets in life is that I wish I had done a better job of staying in touch with my Yale roommates and friends, whom I hold in the highest regard with many treasured memories. My experience at Yale was a terrific one, in large part due to the quality of the individuals whom I was lucky enough to get to know and enjoy.