Obituary of Richard Montague Richard Cady Montague, 86, a third-generation newspaperman and amateur printer, died late on May 28, 2018, at his home in Germantown, N.Y., following a long struggle with pulmonary fibrosis. Born on Oct. 1, 1931, in New Rochelle, N.Y., he was the oldest child of Richard H. Montague and the former Marion Cady.
On his mother’s side, he was a direct Mayflower Compact descendant, and on his father’s side, he was a descendant of a close companion of William the Conqueror. Montague was a 1949 graduate of Roosevelt High School in Hyde Park, N.Y. He served in the U.S. Army during 1951-53, mostly at NATO headquarters near Paris.
Montague was also a graduate of Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. He married a classmate, the former Dorothy Perkins, just after they graduated in June 1957. They would have celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary on June 23, 2018.
Montague worked for the New York Post for more than 20 years as a copyboy, reporter, rewrite-man, and assistant editorial page editor. He resigned from the newspaper in 1977, shortly after it was bought by Rupert Murdoch, and continued working as an editorial writer at Newsday until 1981. As a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in editorial writing in 1970, the jury remarked that, “Mr. Montague is exceptionally adept at using either a serious or light approach in discussing public issues”.
Montague subsequently established the Wordshop, a consulting business to provide writing and editing services mostly to non-profit organizations. After living in New York City for 40 years, primarily in Brooklyn, the Montagues moved to Germantown in 1997. He contributed articles to Columbia County’s newspapers, and renewed an early interest in letterpress printing.
He became involved with the Hudson Valley Old-Time Power Association (HVOTPA), and established a print shop with donated equipment. These included Linotype and Ludlow machines that he maintained and demonstrated for youngsters and their families at HVOTPA’s twice-yearly events. Montague is survived by his wife Dorothy; brother Donald Montague of Ithaca, N.Y., son James Montague of Elmwood Park, Ill.
, and son Gray Montague of Pittsburgh, Pa. Grandchildren are Clara Montague of College Park, Md. , Alice Montague of Stillwater, Okla.
, Avery Montague of Pittsburgh, Pa. , and Grace Montague of Skokie, Ill. He was preceded in death by his parents and sister Susan Montague of Brooklyn, N.Y. Arrangements for cremation were made with the Burnett & White Funeral Home in Red Hook, N.Y. Interment will be at the Friends Upton Lakes Cemetery in Clinton Corners, N.Y. No immediate services memorials are planned, though a “celebration of life” event will be held for relatives and friends at a later date.
For directions, or to sign the online guest book, please visit www. Burnett-White.com.
If you found any mistakes, or you would like to add/remove to this obituary, please contact us by email: info@obituary.memorial. We never ask money for this.
