Obituary of Richard Boyd Robertson

Richard Boyd Robertson, 86, of Colorado Springs, CO went to be with his Lord on October 10th, 2023.

Richard was born November 14, 1936 in Richmond, VA to Walter Gray Robertson and Annie Bruce Boyd Robertson. He was the younger of two sons. He graduated from Warsaw High School in 1954 and from The Virginia Military Institute in 1958 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. After graduation from VMI he went into the Army Corp of Engineers. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant on active duty and then served in the Reserves for 12 years, finishing as a Captain. He earned graduate degrees from Yale University in Highway Traffic and a Master of Regional Planning from the University North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was awarded a Commonwealth of Virginia Graduate Study Scholarship 1961, 1962-64 for his studies.

In 1959 Richard married Patricia Jean Atkinson at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Tappahannock, VA. They lived in Richmond, VA, Hamden CT, Chapel Hills, NC and Northern Virginia (32 years) before moving to Colorado Springs. Richard was an avid golf and chess player and enjoyed tennis, reading, computers and listening to music. He deeply loved his two children and was very proud of them. He and Pat have been members of First Presbyterian Church since 2007.

His career started as a Transportation Planning Engineer for the Virginia Department of Highways. Then he became Executive Director of the Richmond, Virginia Regional Planning District Commission. He spent a year in the Office of the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia as Director of State Transportation Planning followed by 5 months in the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation as a Special Expert. From there he moved to the Appalachian Regional Commission serving as Director of Transportation. In 1981 he joined the Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation as Associate Administrator for Planning and Policy Development. In this job he was a political appointee under President Ronald Reagan. After that he became a Senior Associate for Linton, Mields, Reisler and Cottone, Ltd. He ended his career as Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the International Road Federation, retiring in 1998. He has belonged to numerous professional organizations as well as serving on the Board of Directors of Kings Dear and Paradise Villas. He served on the NEPCO Transportation and Land Use Committee, the El Paso County Highway Advisory Commission, and the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority Citizen Advisory Committee.

Richard is survived by his wife Pat of 64 years; son Richard Boyd Robertson Jr.; daughter Elizabeth Bruce Robertson, her son Brian Patrick Sullivan Jr. and grandson, Brennan Patrick Sullivan.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to First Presbyterian Church or Community Bible Study, Colorado Springs. We wish to thank Wescott Fire Dept. and the staff at Penrose Main for their loving care.

Services, 2:00PM, Wednesday, October 25, 2023, First Presbyterian Church, 219 East Bijou Street, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903.