Richard Gordon Mason, 80, of Fripp Island, SC and Kennebunkport, ME, known and loved by many, died unexpectedly February 14, 2011 on Fripp Island. Born December 5, 1930 in Woonsocket, RI, he was the son of the late Stephenson and Marion (Cooke) Mason.

Mr. Mason was a strong believer in the importance of education. He was a member of the class of 1948 of Phillips Academy in Andover, MA, and earned his bachelor's degree from Yale University in 1952. After graduation, he enlisted in the United States Navy and completed Officers' Training School, before serving on the destroyer USS Forrest B. Royal. He went on to earn his MBA from the Harvard Business School in 1957.

Mr. Mason began a long and successful career in the hand-tool manufacturing industry with Stanley Tools in New Britain, CT, where he rose to Vice President of Manufacturing before joining The Ames Company in Parkersburg, WV, in 1975. He retired from The Ames Company as President in 1991. During his career Mr. Mason was very involved in industry and trade organizations and was a former President of The American Hardware Manufacturers Association and a former member of the Board of Directors of The Emery-Waterhouse Company in Portland, ME.

Mr. Mason was a singer and while at Yale was a member of the now 150 year-old Yale Glee Club and a Whiffenpoof in the class of 1952. Throughout his singing career he sang for everything from his dinner, to dignitaries and United States Presidents. He continued singing as a member of numerous church choirs, most notably Trinity Episcopal Church in Parkersburg, WV, St. Helena's Episcopal Church in Beaufort, SC and St. Ann's Episcopal Church in Kennebunkport, ME. He was a devoted Episcopalian and his dedication to the churches was illustrated by his Vestry service, as Senior Warden of Trinity and St. Ann's, and in other roles including search committees and capital campaigns.

Mr. Mason also served on the Board of Directors of the Parkersburg Arts Center and West Virginia's Independent Colleges & Universities. He was an active member of the Rotary Club in Kennebunkport and a volunteer firefighter on Fripp Island and with the Goose Rocks Beach Fire Department.

Mr. Mason loved the game of golf. He was a longtime member of the Parkersburg Country Club, the golf courses on Fripp Island and Cape Arundel Golf Club in Kennebunkport, where he is a former Senior Men's Club Champion. He also competed in the Southern Maine Seniors. When he wasn't playing golf, attending church choir practice or singing at church services, he was challenged by the "New York Times" Sunday crossword puzzle.

He was predeceased by his loving wife of 53 years, Joan (Morrison) Mason, his parents and his brother Robert C. Mason. He is survived by his daughter, Lydia, and son-in-law Mark Ingram, of Baltimore, MD; his son, Jonathan, and daughter-in-law Tonya, of Mercersburg, PA; his son, James, and daughter-in-law Sara, of Marietta, GA; and his seven grandchildren: Emmett, Kylee Jean, Noble, Douglas, Isabel, Caroline and Welles. He is also survived by his sister-in-law Ann Brooke Mason of Providence, RI and his nieces Sarah Mason of London, England and Abigail Mason of Boston, MA.

Memorial services will be held on Fripp Island on March 18, 2011 and in Kennebunkport in the summer of 2011. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to The Jimmy Fund at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, or the AFLAC Cancer Center at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.