Hilton - Richard E. Hart passed away on Monday, October 6, 2025 at the age of 89. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Bonnie Darling Hart; his son, Jeffrey (Wendy); his grandchildren, Alyssa and Justin (Danielle) Hart; and his brothers, William Hart and Robert (Denice) Hart.

Richard was a veteran of the United States Army, having been drafted during the Korean War, serving in Active Duty from June 16, 1958 to March 18, 1960, while spending 14 months in Seoul, Korea and remained in the Reserves until May 31, 1964.

Richard, “Dick”, was born in Carthage, NY on December 6, 1935 to Eldred J. Hart and Muriel A. (Gates). He was baptized on April 12, 1936 at First Methodist Episcopal Church. He received his high school diploma from Carthage High School in 1953. He loved baseball and was a lefty pitcher on the high school baseball team. From there he attended Erie County Technical Institute in Buffalo, NY and majored in Organic Chemistry. In 1955 he graduated with an AAS (Associate of Applied Science degree in Industrial Chemistry.) After being drafted into the army during the Korean War and serving in Seoul, Korea for 14 months, he came home and married the love of his life, Bonnie Gay Darling at Hope Presbyterian Church in Watertown, NY on September 23, 1961. Dick and Bonnie moved to Rochester in 1962 when Dick was hired at Kodak. They bought their first house in Greece, NY in 1965. Dick worked in the Eastman Chemical division of the Eastman Kodak Co. for almost 30 years and retired at 55. They then moved into their newly built retirement home in Hamlin in 1993, where Dick enjoyed gardening and puttering around the yard, travelling, and reading. Dick and Bonnie joined the Hamlin United Methodist Church in 2000, where they each then attended a spiritual weekend retreat, Walk to Emmaus. Both were baptized in 2015. His son, Jeffrey, honored Dick by escorting him on Honor Flight Rochester’s Mission 65 to Washington, D.C. in 2019. Dick loved watching sports, as his son and grandson also acquired the same passion for sports. He was very thoughtful of others and enjoyed having conversations with just about everybody. 

A Memorial Service will be held for Richard on Saturday, October 11, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. at Hamlin Methodist Church, 1742 Lake Road N., Hamlin, NY 14464.

Those wishing so, may make contributions in memory of Richard to:

        Honor Flight Rochester, PO Box 23581, Rochester, NY 14692 at www.honorflightrochester.org. You can click on the charity name to link directly to the donation site.