Richard Albert Passwater of Winterville, NC, Sarasota, FL and Ocean Pines, MD died on April 28, 2022, at the age of 84.
During his extensive career, he served as a civilian scientist with the Air Force’s Project Papa Bear to ensure the purity of liquid nitrogen for the Centaur rocket; he was director, Research Analytics Laboratories at Allied Chemical Corporation; director, Applications Research Laboratory at Baxter-Travenol Laboratories; vice president of Research for the American Gerontological Research Laboratories Division of Life Science Labs; and vice president of Research and Development for Solgar Vitamin & Herb Company. He wrote more than 45 books and 600 articles, participated in over 7,000 radio shows and served as WholeFoods Magazine’s science editor for 36 years.
A pioneer in the natural products industry, he was twice honored by the Committee for World Health (1978 & 1980), received the nutrition industry’s Achievement Award (1989), National Nutrition Foods Association’s Presidents Award (1999), James Lind Scientific Achievement Award (2004), John Peter Zenger Free Press Award for writing (2004), and was inducted into the International Society of Orthomolecular Medicine Hall of Fame (2021). He also was voted Citizen of the Year by his community (Ocean Pines, MD, 1987), and was inducted into the Delmarva Firefighter’s Hall of Fame (1993) after serving 25 years as a volunteer EMT and firefighter including 10 years as Chief of the Ocean Pines Volunteer Fire Department (OPVFD). He was a Founding Advisor of Atlantic General Hospital, a member of the American Chemical Society since 1959, and a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemistry.
He received his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from the University of Delaware in 1959, and his PhD in biochemistry from Bernadean University of Nevada in 1975. He was certified by the American Chemical Society in 1959 and in 1984 was elected “Fellow” of the American Institute of Chemistry.
Passwater is preceded in death by his parents Stanley Sr. and Mabel King Passwater, and his brother Stanley Passwater Jr. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Barbara, their two children Richard Alan (Myriam) and Michael (Ellen), two grandchildren Matt (Chelsea) and Thomas, and two great-grandchildren Audrey and Jamison; as well as a nephew, Steve Passwater, and many cousins. He enjoyed time with family and friends, photography, genealogy, and Baltimore Orioles and Delmarva Shorebirds games.
A memorial service was held on May 14. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the OPVFD (https://opvfd.com/page/donations), your local fire department, PANCAN (www.pancan.org) or Vitamin Angels (www.vitaminangels.org).
