Richard Fleming, 91, died Dec. 24, 2015, at his country home, “Windfields,” where he lived for almost 40 years. He was the husband of the late Peggy Fleming who died in 2008 after 63 years of marriage. He was born in the Bronx, N.Y.

In 1942 he began four years of service in the U.S. Navy, serving as the electronics officer in a motor torpedo boat (PT) squadron. He earned his chemical engineering degrees through study at Princeton, Columbia, MIT, New York University and Pratt Institute.

After the war he progressed through a series of increasingly responsible positions with several different companies. He joined Sun Oil Co. in 1959 and was elected president and CEO of Avisun Corporation in 1962. He was recruited by Leonard Pool and joined Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. in 1969, working initially as group vice president and board member and later as executive vice president, until 1980. During his tenure with Air Products, he was a co-founder of the Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology, an international leader in research on the toxicity of industrial chemicals. After serving as president and COO of GAF Corporation in New York CIty, he started Richard Fleming Associates, Inc., a management consulting firm serving a variety of domestic and foreign companies.

He had a humble Depression-era upbringing but credited his mother with teaching him to always share whatever he could with others, a lesson which became a hallmark of his life.

Influenced by Leonard Pool, his mentor at Air Products, he joined the board of directors of Allentown Hopsital in 1975, and was an influential member throughout the years of its evolution to Lehigh Valley Health Network. He served as chairman of the board from 1977 to 1981 and was instrumental in establishing the LVHN-MedEvac, the region’s first critical care helicopter transport service.

He established numerous endowments at LVHN supporting Friends of Nursing, Hospice, Pain Management, Trauma, educational lecture series in Infectious Disease/Infection Control and Internal Medicine, and funded the Peggy Fleming Endowed Chair of Nursing in honor of his beloved wife. Over the years he generously supported numerous organizations, including The Salvation Army, DeSales University, Valley Youth House and Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Hospital. He served on the board of Valley Youth House and was chairman of the Capital Campaign and Long Range Planning Committee. He was an advisory board member for The Salvation Army and made the lead gift to fund the Rich Fleming Family Hope Center of The Salvation Army, Allentown in memory of his son, Rich.

In 2002 his wife exhibited signs of dementia and was ultimately diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. He was his wife’s primary caregiver throughout her illness. Through that difficult, painful experience, he discovered the care system for people with dementia and related disorders was fragmented and underfunded. This ultimately led to the vision of his final major project, the Fleming Memory Center at LVHN, designed to provide much needed comprehensive support for dementia patients and their caregivers. The dedication ceremony for the center took place Oct. 1, 2015, culminating several years of intense effort.

He is survived by a son, Bob, of Boyertown; daughter and son-in-law, Trinka and Jack Arnold, of Zionsville; daughter-in-law, Linda Fleming, of West Chester; nieces and nephews; his dear friend and companion, Eva Huston. He was predeceased by his eldest son, Richard in 1999.

Contributions may be made to the Fleming Memory Center. Send checks payable to LVHN-Fleming Memory Center, c/o LVHN Development Department, P.O. Box 1883, Allentown, 18103.

A memorial service will be held at First Presbyterian Church, Allentown, Tilghman and Cedar Crest 11 a.m. Jan. 9 A reception will follow at the Richard Fleming Educational Conference Center in the Kasych Pavilion at LVHN-Cedar Crest. Arrangements were made by the Stephens Funeral Home Inc., Allentown.