SHELBURNE FALLS — Richard “Rick” Bardwell Jr., a longtime member of the Shelburne Falls Fire Department, including its chief for 14 years, will be remembered by those who knew him as someone you could always count on.
Bardwell died Sunday at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield after a short battle with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, according to his obituary. He was 66 years old.
“He never had a bad word to say about anybody,” said his nephew, Zack Turner.
The Shelburne Falls Fire Department shared the announcement of his death on its Facebook page on Monday.
“Rick was a longtime member of the department, who touched so many in the area during his years of dedicated service to the district,” the post states. “Rick’s calm demeanor and warm smile made him a friend to all.”
Fire departments throughout the state shared the post, offering messages of condolence to the Fire Department and Bardwell’s family.
The Buckland resident served the Shelburne Falls Fire Department for about 30 years before retiring in 2018, according to his nephew Turner, who is on the Buckland Selectboard. He was the chief from 2004 until 2018.
He was also an active member of Trinity Church, where he was part of the choir, Turner said, and was an artist, working as a glassblower at Josh Simpson Glass.
Bardwell was married to Lisa Bardwell for 39 years. They had three children — two sons, Justin and Gregory Bardwell, and a daughter, Kayla Patterson — and eight grandchildren.
He helped coach Little League baseball for his sons when they were young, and was a “dance dad” to his daughter, Turner said.
“His oldest son is a year older than me,” Turner said. “As a family, we were very close when we were all growing up.”
Bardwell was dependable and someone you could count on, Turner said, recalling when his own father died 18 years ago.
“Uncle Rick was the kind of guy that if something was wrong, you could always count on him being right there,” he said. “I lost my dad 18 years ago; it was very sudden … and I know that he was the first or second phone call. He was right down with my dad, trying to get him the help he needed.”
Turner described Bardwell as a quiet guy who was “so, so funny.”
“He was always quietly there, no matter what was going on,” he said. “He always had these one-liners that had impeccable, roll-on-the-floor comedic timing.”
With little explanation, Turner referenced what he described as a longtime family joke involving “a couple of loud raccoons.”
“It’s something that everybody will forever remember about him,” he said.
Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne