Robert Richmond

Robert (Bard) Lewis Richmond, 67, passed away at home in Magnolia on December 20, 2017 surrounded by his wife and three sons after an awe-inspiring 3-year battle with multiple myeloma. Born in Boston, MA in 1950 to Martin and Miriam Richmond, he grew up flying with his dad, and became a licensed pilot at age 16. Bard attended Belmont Hill School, and went on to MIT. He "dropped out" to play the electric bass in the band The Road Apples, which had a Top 40 hit in the mid-70s. Returning to MIT, Bard graduated in 1980 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and Engineering. Bard moved to Seattle and in 1983 co-founded Active Voice, a software company that would become the world's leading independent developer of PC based voice mail systems for enterprises. He was the CEO from 1983 to 1999. Active Voice went public in 1993 and when sold to Cisco Systems in 2000 had over 400 employees, and offices worldwide. Bard was a generous philanthropist, donating to areas in which he, as a scientist, was well-versed, including MIT's McGovern Center for Brain Research, the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT, the UW Institute for Learning and Brain Science, the UW CSE building, Seattle Academy, and others. Along the way, Bard met Julie (Johnson) Richmond. They were married in 1998 and had identical twin sons (Eli and Max) one week after Active Voice was sold and Bard retired. Two years later, their son Owen was born. Bard was preceded in death by his parents, Miriam and Martin Richmond. He is survived by his sons, Eli, Max and Owen Richmond; his wife, Julie Richmond; his sister, Wendy Richmond; and many friends and relatives.