Richmond Talbot (Dick) Leeson of South Dartmouth died on Oct. 25, surrounded by his family at Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River. He was 81 and the beloved husband of Mary C. (Keane) Leeson.

Born in Boston, the son of the late Robert and Evelyn (Talbot) Leeson, he lived in South Dartmouth for nearly 50 years. Mr. Leeson attended Charles River School in Dover, Dexter School in Brookline, and Moses Brown School in Providence, R.I. He graduated from St. Mark’s School in Southborough and received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and his master’s degree from the University of Virginia Business School.

Mr. Leeson served in the U.S. Army at Fort Devens. He worked for the established family business, Leesona Corporation, in Warwick, R.I., running the British operation in Heywood, England. He was also vice president at Babbit Brothers in Fairhaven, a stockbroker for Advest, Inc. in Fall River, and regional sales manager for Tilton Equipment in Portsmouth, N.H.

He was known for his keen intellect, dry wit, and love of practical jokes. He was a gifted raconteur and will be remembered for his adventurous spirit, limitless curiosity, integrity, and generosity. He was an avid and accomplished outdoorsman. He enjoyed deer hunting in the New Hampshire woods, enriched his surroundings with his love of gardening herbs, vegetables, Stargazer lilies, and blueberry bushes, and backpacking in the wilds of Alaska, Wyoming and Colorado with his wife Mary.

His greatest passion was fishing off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard for striped bass and swordfish on his cherished boat, Kittiwake IV. He won the boat division of the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby with the biggest striped bass in 1997. When he wasn’t on the water looking for fish, he was at home making lures and spooling his reels. He spent his summers on the Vineyard and during the rest of the year he enjoyed watching wildlife from his home overlooking the Slocum River.

Mr. Leeson was an Emeritus member of the New Bedford Yacht Club, Padanaram Station; a lifelong member of Ducks Unlimited and the Owl Club at Harvard; a strong supporter of the Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust; and was dedicated to furthering the goals of the Massachusetts Audubon Sanctuary at Allens Pond in Dartmouth. In the fall and winter, you’d often find him perched in a blind at Allens Pond, a short distance from his home, waiting for the elusive flock of geese to soar into the field with his black lab Barney quivering beside him.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by four children, Richmond T. (Toby) Leeson Jr. of Steamboat Springs, Colo.; William A. (Bill) Leeson and his wife Heather of Santa Fe, N.M., Thomas E. (Tom) Leeson and his wife Tiffany of Steamboat Springs, Colo.; and Gwendolyn G. Murdock and her husband Putnam of South Dartmouth; two stepchildren, Jeffrey D. DuBois and his wife Amy of South Dartmouth and Russell A. Keane of Asheville, N.C.; a brother, Robert Leeson Jr. and his wife Margaret (Peggy) (Goddard) of Narragansett, R.I. He was an adoring Poppi to 11 grandchildren: Eliza, Harriet, Silas, Skylar, Sophie, Van, Graeme, Hazel, Jillian, Adrianna and Marielle. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews as well as his beloved cat, Quahog.

A memorial service will be held on April 29, 2017 at 11 a.m. at the Seaman’s Bethel in New Bedford. In lieu of flowers, Mr. Leeson’s family wishes that contributions be made in his memory to the Allens Pond Conservation Completion Project, care of the Buzzards Bay Coalition, 114 Front Street, New Bedford, MA 02740 (note on the check or the transmittal “Credit to the Barney’s Joy Challenge”). The project is working to save 217 acres of critical coastal farmland, woodland, and wetland on Allens Pond, one of the most significant coastal habitats in Southern New England. For more information, visit savebuzzardsbay.org.

Arrangements are under the care of the Waring-Sullivan Home of Memorial Tribute at Dartmouth, waring-sullivan.com.