Richard Sanders died in his sleep March 28th, 2010. Dick was born November 27, 1908 in Dayton Ohio. Two days before his death he wrote the following obituary which is how he wanted to be remembered: “Richard Avery Sanders died today of simple old age. He was over 100 years old. He spent his entire working career in the banking field, joining the Federal Reserve in 1934 and retiring as a Vice President in 1973. His tennis abilities enabled him to play in tournaments all over the continent. While he won but few, he was generally designated as a ‘seeded’ participant. Sanders could probably be designated as a ‘religious man’. He was a regular ‘church attendant’ and served many a year as a Sunday school teacher of young boys. He also served as a ‘Deacon’ and later as an ‘Elder’.” Dick was devoted to his college alma mater, Otterbein College, in Westerville Ohio. That is where he met his first wife, Nitetis. Graduating in 1929, he was part of a long family tradition which included his sister, mother, father and grandfather. The latter became President and, through substantial support, was largely responsible for saving the college during difficult financial times. Over the years, Dick served proudly as a member of the Board of Trustees and recounted one of his greatest achievements as preventing the demolition and spearheading the restoration of Towers Hall, an historically significant building on the Otterbein Campus. Dick’s prowess as a tennis player will be remembered by all who knew him. At age 80 he ranked in the top ten nationally as a senior. He continued to play well into his 90s stopping only when his legs “let me down”. As a fitting tribute for his love of the sport and his devotion to Otterbein, at age 99 he and his wife, Charlotte, drove from Atlanta to Westerville Ohio to dedicate new tennis courts that were named for him in his honor. Dick is survived by his loving wife Charlotte Martin Sanders, who lives in Atlanta, daughter, Betty Jones, of Ellijay GA, son, Alan, of Frankfort NY, son in law Keith Martin of Atlanta, daughter in law, Pamela Lanford of Buford GA and four grand children, five great grand children and one great-great grand child. The family will receive friends one hour prior to his memorial services at 2:00 PM Saturday, April 17, in the chapel of A. S. Turner and Sons.
