Virtual Lancaster

Richard “Dick” Dow”

We’re deeply saddened to report the tragic passing away last week of Richard Dow, a hugely popular local businessman and much-missed friend of many Lancastrians whose lives he touched.

Richard had been involved in the Gregson Centre on Moorgate for over thirty years as a trustee and as a director of Gregson Centre Limited, the management company that operates the Gregson Centre on behalf of the Gregson Community Association. He had also run numerous local businesses.

Here at virtual-lancaster, he’ll be recalled for his support of the site and the project’s community news predecessors such as Off The Beat magazine. On a personal level, I’ll remember him as a generous landlord and much-loved member of the Lancaster community and I’m deeply saddened to learn of his passing.

“There will be a time to pay him proper tribute for his decades long dedication to the Gregson Centre and the wider community, but at present our thoughts are with his children, family and his friends at this sad time,” noted the Gregson Community Association in a short statement released yesterday.

“Richard was loved and respected by many. It is hard to describe just how much he will be missed as a colleague and a friend by those of us who had the pleasure of knowing him well and of working with him over the years. He is simply irreplaceable.”