After serving 32 years as a Westport Island selectman, George D. Richardson Jr. is retiring. Please join us on Sunday, July 31 from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Old Town Hall, 1217 Main Road. 

For those who are able to contribute: Bring a potluck appetizer or dessert to share.

For questions, contact Gaye Wagner at 207-380-4476 or Linda Davis at 207-882-5464.

No gifts, but there will be a "Wishing Well" for good wishes and a retirement kitty!

This year’s town report dedication to Richardson reads in part: “For those who know George well, or have always called Westport home, George is known as family (both literally and figuratively), friend, a Yankee, a character, “Captain,” the “Mayor of Westport Island” and “King George.” To those who work for him, he is respected and will be sorely missed ... a wise and caring manager who works tirelessly for this Island. Islanders who have been sick, lost a loved one, weathered a bad time ... or who have served, or made a donation to, the Island will all remember receiving a handwritten, George-initiated greeting card expressing sympathy or appreciation.

“George grew up on the Island and attended the one-room North End Schoolhouse that was shuttered in the 1960s. After graduating from Morse High School in Bath, he went on to the Massachusetts Radio & Telegraph School, Maine Maritime Academy, and service in the U.S. Navy.

“In 1959, he married his loving – and patient – wife Marcia and they had five children. His family has patiently been by his side throughout his colorful life as a fisherman – which gave him more than one “about to meet your Maker” moment – and his longstanding service to Westport. His service to the island has included 32 years as selectman; Harbor Master; Chair of the School Board; member of the Conservation Commission, the Shellfish Committee, the History Committee, the Lincoln County Budget Committee and Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission; and member of the Maine Municipal Association (MMA) Executive Committee (2008-2011) where he served on several committees and received the prestigious MMA Ethel Kelley Memorial Award in 2006. An MMA executive wrote: ‘When I think of George, I recall his deep passion and love for local government and his ‘salt of the Earth’ approach to life.’

“His proudest accomplishments on behalf of the town include overseeing and advocating for the construction of the town office building; the acquisition of the land and the development of tFerry Landing, a public boat landing that assures water access for all Island residents; construction of the sand and salt shed; conversion of the house at Ferry Landing to accommodate a food pantry on the bottom level and Westport Island History Center on the ground level; and keeping Island taxes low for everyone – to help to ensure that those who have lived here for generations can afford to keep their family homesteads.”