The night sky has grown a little brighter with the addition of a new star. Dr. Richard Peter Ely of Greenfield, Massachusetts passed peacefully and left this earthly plane on January 12, 2026. He is survived by his daughter Ceridwyn Murphy and her husband Alex, his sister Joan Stasiak and his niece Gabrielle Pont and husband, Joshua. Rick also leaves his beloved Seeing Eye Guide Dog, General, who now happily wags his tail in the home of his daughter, Ceridwyn.

Rick was born on November 18, 1947 in Youngstown, Ohio, the son of the late Trafton L. Ely and Sara R. Higgins Ely. He lived a very rich life from a very early age. He developed a passion for horses which began with his participation in the Pony Club. He went on to show both hunters and gaited horses throughout the northeast. He was recognized in the National Horseman as the youngest blind horse trainer in the United States at the time. He also had a love of acting and was involved in productions in both high school and college. Rick loved movies and could always be found sitting front and center at the theater.

Rick also loved animals. He always held onto his love for horses even after he stopped riding. As an older man, his dogs and parrots were the beloved companions with which he shared daily life. The Scottish deerhounds Toby, Fiona, and later Claire were his favorites for many years, although a greyhound rescue, Lilly, was part of the mix. His last dog, General, a German Shepard, was at Rick’s side every moment for over 9 years.

During any visit to Rick’s home visitors were met by a cacophony of jungle sounds. The parrots, Vincent, an African grey, was a companion for almost 20 years. He was later joined by Ida the Macaw, Esther the Conure and Lumi the Cockatoo, a bit of a troublemaker. But they were all family and Rick was the ever kind and patient caretaker of his flock. It was often said that Rick’s pets ate as well some people! Only the best for his pets.

Rick married Mary Lynn Balsley in August 1971. In 1976 they moved from Culver, Indiana after having accepted teaching positions at the Northfield/Mount Hermon School in Northfield, Massachusetts. It was there they adopted their daughter, Ceridwyn on March 17, 1989. Both he and Ceridwyn shared a love for Nova Scotia and spent many summers there during her childhood.  Rick was so proud of his daughter and her accomplishments. She is currently the director for a top New York Home Fashions company. She was there for Rick when he truly needed help and made many trips to visit even though she lived several hours away.

Education was always an significant part of Rick’s life. He earned a BA from Hiram College, an MA in English from Kent State University, a Doctorate (Ed.D.) from Harvard, and a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Film from Wesleyan University.  Rick never stopped learning and was a voracious reader; utilizing the medium of recorded and auditory books to the fullest extent possible.

Having been born with Stargardt Disease, a genetic condition causing progressive vision loss, Rick was provided the life-long challenge of living with a vision loss in a sighted world. Though often challenged, he chose not to let it defeat him or deter his aspirations and life goals and indeed developed a number of creative solutions to this limitation. Whenever traveling, Rick would ask, “My car or yours?” Initially, this was a bit disconcerting until he mischievously grinned and handed the keys to HIS car over for YOU to drive. He was not only a superb listener but generously offered emotional support, practical advice and technology suggestions to those who sought him out for help. To those individuals just entering the vision field as well as the “old timers” all who knew Rick found him to be an extremely knowledgable. His kindness and compassion shone through as he graciously offered practical mentoring support to any whom sought him out.

Rick was an active member in the New England chapter of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired the professional organization for educators for the blind. His career, spanning over four decades, included a variety of positions within the local schools and blind services communities. He worked as a Teacher for Blind Children with The Carroll Center for the Blind and was Coordinator of the Western Massachusetts Outreach Program through the Perkins School for the Blind. In the later portion of his career Rick was Director of his own consulting business called En-Vision. Rick’s love of theatre and movies along with his steadfast commitment for fuller participation and enjoyment of these mediums for the blind, lead him to work with WGBH in Boston as its Project Director in the development of the Descriptive Video Service, an audio track that narrates key visual elements for people who are blind or visually impaired.

Rick was a good friend to many people over the years. From his Northfield Mt. Hermon days, and living on Highland Ave, Rick was well known and often seen at Mim’s market, the Northfield library, and other local establishments. It was not well known that he had a doctorate from Harvard, Rick was not pretentious or one to brag about such things, a kind and friendly soul who to everyone he knew was just “Rick”.

Rick was cremated and no formal service occurred. Friends of Rick are planning a small Celebration of Life to occur in the early spring, if you are interested in joining us, please email: Jude Bischoff at cilantroannie@gmail.com. One of Rick’s loves were his exotic parrots, who needed to find new homes when Rick made the move to New Jersey in late 2024. Foster Parrots, Ltd. in Rhode Island, assisted in this. It would make Rick smile if he knew donations in his name were sent to this wonderful organization. (www: fosterparrots.com) Additionally, General was such a major part of his later life, donations in Rick’s name could also be made to The Seeing Eye (www: seeingeye.org)

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