Richard Winslow Horton, 70, of Madison, died peacefully Oct. 17 at Connecticut Hospice after a brave battle with cancer. He was born Aug. 24, 1943 in Boston, Massachusetts to the late Wendell and Jeanette Horton. He was raised and attended school in Reading, Massachusetts, where he was an exemplary scholar, 3-sport athlete and president of his high school class. Richard is recognized as one of the finest athletes in Reading High School history and is a member of the school’s hall of fame. He earned Massachusetts’ All-Scholastic Honors recognition in football, basketball and baseball.

Richard was a 1965 graduate of Dartmouth College, where he earned a B.A. and served as president of the Phi Delta Alpha fraternity. A scholar athlete in college, he was catcher and captain of the baseball team, played football for two consecutive Ivy League Championship seasons, and was a member of Green Key Society. After graduating from Dartmouth with honors, Richard was drafted by Lou Gorman for the Baltimore Orioles in the second round of the 1965 Major League Baseball June Amateur Draft, immediately ahead of Johnny Bench, and traveled throughout the country with the minor league team.

After baseball, he pursued his M.B.A. at Boston University until he was drafted during the Vietnam War. Following an honorable discharge, Richard began a career in the energy industry and eventually served in a variety of leadership roles in general management and sales positions for more than 30 years.

Richard is survived by his daughter Rebecca Reising and her husband Thomas of Killingworth; his son Christopher Horton and his wife Sunho of Chatsworth, California; his cherished grandchildren Zachary Winslow Horton and Grayson Richard Reising; and the mother of his children, Louise Horton of Raleigh, North Carolina. He was predeceased by his brother Bruce Horton.

A service in celebration of his life was held Oct. 21 at the Hawley Lincoln Memorial Funeral Home, Guilford. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Richard’s memory may be made to CT Hospice, 100 Double Beach Rd, Branford, CT 06405. The Hawley Lincoln Memorial Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.