The Department of Chemistry at The College of Wooster mourns the loss of Richard Bromund
Richard ‘Dick’ Hayden Bromund, husband of Virginia Carol Bussert Pett and emeritus Professor of Chemistry at the College of Wooster, in Wooster, Ohio, passed away on March 15, 2024, at the Lodge in Mills River, North Carolina, at the age of 83.
Richard Bromund graduated from Oberlin College in 1962, where he earned an A.B. in Chemistry, followed by a PhD at Penn State University before coming to Wooster in 1967. Bromund regularly taught Analytical Chemistry, Instrumental Analysis, Environmental Chemistry, Introduction to Independent Study, Introductory College Chemistry, and First Year Seminar. He had six research leaves and supervised 119 Senior I.S. students. Research leaves took him to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Eli Lily, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. As “Building Shepherd” during the 1998-99 renovation and addition to Severance Hall, he was the liaison between faculty, administration, and builders for this project, helping to make the facility a smoothly functioning instrument for chemistry education. He retired in 2006 after 39 years of teaching.
His dedication to students, his expertise with a wide variety of chemical instrumentation, and his willingness to assist his colleagues will be remembered. Nate Bower, PhD, a 1973 Wooster graduate and was a Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Colorado College at the time of Bromund’s retirement, expressed his dedication to students. “He was always a kind and thoughtful person who put students first,” said Bower, who established the Thomas A. Sanborn – Richard H. Bromund Endowed Fund in Chemistry, in part to honor Bromund. “He was definitely energetic, but I thought of him as the quiet person who held everything together behind the scenes.
Tim Wozniak, a 1978 Wooster graduate, remembered Bromund for his love of science, specifically chemistry, and his desire to treat each student as an individual that he wanted to see succeed in life. “He was always enthusiastic and able to energize his students to a higher level of performance,” said Wozniak at Bromund’s retirement. “His enthusiasm was infectious and spurred us to be more inquisitive to understand why we were doing what we were doing. His inherent curiosity in learning how things worked and sharing that with others is what attracted me to him for my Senior Independent Study project.”
Bromund spent his retirement years travelling with his wife, Virginia Pett, also a retired professor of chemistry at Wooster. They spent time with family and former students and lived in Wooster until they moved to Asheville, NC, in 2018 to be closer to family. Richard is survived by his wife Virginia, his sister Marylee, his son Ted, Ted’s wife Erica Munkwitz, Richard’s daughter Nicola, Nicola’s daughter Mara Francis Wolf Cavanagh, Nicola’s husband MJ Cavanagh, Virginia’s children Janice Lee Pett Ritchey, Janice’s children Cara Lynne Ritchey Jones and Chase Allen Ritchey; Kate Anne Pett, Kate’s husband Vince, and Kate’s children Juliana and Gabriel; and Brian T. Pett and Brian’s wife Racquel. A celebration of life is planned for April 6, 2024. Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to the “Thomas A. Sanborn and Richard H. Bromund Endowed Fund in Chemistry” at the College of Wooster at https://wooster.edu/give/wooster-priorities/, or to New Hampshire Lakes at https://nhlakes.app.neoncrm.com/forms/donate. To share your condolences, go to: https://www.ashevillemortuaryservices.com/obituary/RichardDick-Bromund.