Richard was born in Somerset, PA, and grew up in church but did not get saved until the age of 16. At the age of 17 he joined the United States Army and took basic training at Ft. Jackson, SC. After serving six years of active duty with the United States Army Security Agency, he was discharged in 1968 with the rank of Staff Sergeant E6.

His active duty tours included Co A, 313th USASA Battalion, Ft. Bragg, NC; Headquarters Company, USASA Training Center, Ft. Devens, MA; 226th USASA Operations Company, Kangwha-Do, (DMZ) Korea; Co. A, 508th USASA Group, Yongjukol (Camp Beaumont) Korea, 7th RRFS, Udorn (Ramasun Station), Thailand; and Arlington Hall Station, Arlington, VA.

Upon discharge from the Army, Richard settled in Massachusetts where he and his wife, Judy, became involved in a local church in various aspects of the church ministries. At the same time, Richard joined United States Army Reserve where he continued his military career in an infantry battalion. He was promoted to Sergeant First Class E7 and later received a direct appointment as warrant officer by the Secretary of the Army.

God began to work in Richard’s heart and he felt compelled to resign from the Army reserve and the federal service job that he had as a Department of the Army civilian, and go to Bible College. Following Bible College, he was engaged in prison and jail evangelism in Maine prior to moving to Elkton, MD in August, 1990. Richard is the author of over 100 Gospel tracts, 8 books (“Missionary to Missionary”, “The Church and Missionary Relationship”, The Short Term Missionary, Poems From the Heart, and Tips for Tracts), and Poems From the Heart, Volume 2, “Gospel Tracts and Changed Lives”, “The Christmas Quest” as well as other works of literature. He served for over 9 years as the director of a small mission board, and he has been on dozens of mission trips.  On May 17, 2007 Richard received the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity from the Maryland Baptist Bible College.