BCAT News

Richard “Dick” Linder, BCAT’s well known retired engineer passed away August 19, 2022 at the age of 87.

Richard was born in Boston, the son of Sally Linder and Leroy Gerson and adopted by Al Linder.  He grew up in Dorchester, was educated in Boston, and earned his Associates Degree from Northeastern University.  Richard also served in the Air Force and was 1^st Lieutenant for 6 years.

Richard first met Phyllis in a carpool with other Northeastern students.  “When it came to decide the radio station to be played in the car, both requested the classical music station.  They might not have won the battle for the car radio station, but they found each other,” his obituary reads.

Their first date was to the Boston Symphony.  Richard married Phyllis when he was 24 years old. Over their 59 years of marriage, they continued their tradition of Friday night dates to the Boston Symphony, Pops, and many operas.

Richard and his wife Phyllis were long time Burlington residents, where they raised their two daughters Cheryl and Susan.

Richard worked at Raytheon for 38 years as an electrical engineer starting at Spencer Lab in Burlington and retiring from the Microwave and Power Tube division in Waltham.  After retiring from Raytheon, Richard worked for BCAT as Quality Engineer for 20 years and was the mastermind behind modernizing the studio.  After retiring from BCAT, Richard fixed lamps for Burlington seniors.

Richard’s love of music and technology led him to several other hobbies.  He was an avid photographer mastering high speed photography and as a young man learned to capture images of bullets speeding through bottles of colored water and TV tubes. You can see selections of his photography in a BCAT Special from an exhibit he held at the Burlington Public Library in 2005.   He was also a HAM radio operator with his college buddies.  In the late sixties, Richard and the Eastern Mass Chapter of the American Theater Organ Society (EMCATOS) rescued the Loew’s State Theatre Wurlitzer pipe organ, restored it in Babson College, and continued its maintenance through the decades.  Richard was so fascinated with the Van de Graaff generator, he built two of them from scratch, and would put on his wizard hat, and do demonstrations for the Burlington Public Schools.  In his spare time, Richard loved playing the organ whether it be the mighty Wurlitzer, the virtual organ he built, or his keyboard.

Click Here to read his full obituary.