Onken, Richard E.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Richard E. Onken, 89, of Pittsfield, Mass., passed away on Thursday, April 14, 2022, at Berkshire Medical Center just a few weeks before his 90th birthday.

He was born in May 1932, in Bronx, N.Y., and grew up in the Bronx, to which he always had a strong attachment. He graduated from Bronx High School of Science, earned his bachelors from CCNY, and earned a masters degree in Sociology from the New School in New York.

After a long and distinguished career in public service, he completed his career as the budget director for the Rensselaer Dept. of Mental Health. He was very active in the Albany Unitarian Universalist Church, where he served on the Board of Trustees, including a term as president.

He retired after the death of his second wife, Ruth Stephenson, and later moved to the Berkshires to marry his third wife, Peggy Braun.

He loved to read, enjoyed cooking, loved opera and a wide range of music, enjoyed travel, and was a wine and coffee snob. And his cat, Mrs. Puddy Cat, spent long hours on his lap. He was involved for many years in spiritual work with the Diamond Approach. Later in life, he was an adventurous man and discovered a talent for acting and improv which surprised and delighted him.

Richard is survived by his wife, Peggy Braun; his son, Andrew Onken; daughter, Christine Orvis and her husband Ken Orvis; the mother of his children, Doris Onken; and his grandchildren, Evelyn and Lore Orvis, Samantha Onken and fiance Jack Holly, and Allison Fisher and husband, Joe Fisher, their children, Colton and Zoie; his sister, Ruth Bournazian; and his stepdaughter, Heather Stephenson, and stepson, Matt Stephenson. He will be greatly missed.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the ACLU in his honor.