Richard Clayton "Dick" Pollock

Richard Clayton (Dick) Pollock, 72, of North Conway, died Monday, Oct. 17, 2016, at Memorial Hospital. His prostate cancer that had returned a little over two years ago finally took his life. Dick lived every day of that time with as much gusto as he could.

He was born on Sept. 24, 1944, in Hyannis, Mass. His family moved to Center Ossipee in 1950, where Dick began first grade and went to Kennett High School. He graduated from Plymouth State Teachers College, now known as Plymouth State University.

He was predeceased by his parents, Clayton and Mary (King) Pollock, and his sister, Barbara (Pollock) Poitrast.

He is survived by his wife of 25 years, Ellin Leonard; two sons, Christopher W. and his wife, Amy (Moore), of Rochester, N.Y., and Todd J. and his wife, Emily (Jamba), of South Waymouth, Mass.; Dick's beloved seven grandsons, Isaac, Caleb, Micah, Simon, Oliver, Ari and Lucas; a brother, David and his wife, Mary (Young) Pollock, of Centerville, Mass; stepdaughters, Jean (Hillner) Eno and her husband, Paul, of Greenland, and Kristen (Hillner) Gallant and her husband, Steven, of Topsfield, Mass.; his first wife and mother of his sons, Nancy (Maltese) Pollock and her husband, Jim Hathaway, of Gates, N.Y.; beloved friends who were family to Dick and Ellin, Rod and Susan Forsman of North Conway; nine nephews and nieces and their families.

Dick had planned to be a high school English teacher but had a major skiing accident his senior year at Plymouth so he graduated in January 1967, and found himself working for the YMCA in Concord. He continued to work for several Ys for nearly 30 years in New Jersey, Minnesota and Tennessee, eventually returning to New Hampshire and directing the Southern District YMCA & Camp Lincoln.
After retiring from the Y and working in commercial property management for 10 years, he and Ellin moved from Portsmouth to the valley in 2005. He worked seasonally for the Mt. Washington Auto Road as a stage driver, a fun job for him. He loved to tell the lore of the auto road, and practiced his love of photography on its flora and fauna. He was a skier, hiker and avid bicyclist, capable of riding 5,000 miles over the course of any given biking season.

Dick was a joiner. He was an active member for many years of the Mt. Washington Valley Bicycle Club, and president of the North Country Camera Club. He authored a hardcover photo book and became a professional photographer, covering many genres and loving every aspect of taking pictures. He was a member of the Mt. Washington Valley Chamber of Commerce and a major part of Conway's 250th Anniversary "Happy" video project sponsored by Settlers Green.
Improving the lives of children was very important to Dick. During his time at Camp Lincoln, he received a "Champion for Children" award. Many people from southern New Hampshire have fond memories of Dick and their adventures at Camp Lincoln from when they were kids there.

Here in the valley, he had been a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer. He helped the Bike Club start a bike safety program for children, and he led the camera club to develop a photo contest for high school kids.
In 1991, Dick became a member of South Church Unitarian Universalist in Portsmouth, and very soon thereafter became a board member. When he and Ellin moved to North Conway, they joined Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of the Eastern Slopes. Again, he joined the board right away. He upgraded and computerized their bookkeeping system and managed their finances for many years.

Dick was a doer, a planner, a careful organizer. In 2006, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of the Eastern Slopes held an art exhibit titled "Americans Who Tell the Truth." It had a profound impact on Dick. Not long after that he became involved in an effort with Ken McKenzie and Joe Bagshaw to get a resolution on the ballot in the towns of Conway and Eaton to overturn the Citizens United decision. Their voters approved.

He then got involved with Carroll County Democrats, The 99%, Granny D, New Hampshire Rebellion and more. This past May, with his body failing, he marched in Washington, D.C. to protest with thousands of others at Democracy Spring. And, of course, he made a video of it all.

Donations to honor Dick may be made to Jen's Friends (www.jensfriends.org) or to prostate cancer research (Prostate Cancer Foundation.org is a good one, but there are others) or to a children's charity of your choosing.