Richard Ruff 'Dick' Stanfield, lumber firm president

Richard Ruff "Dick" Stanfield, founder and president of Edrich Lumber Inc. who had been active in community affairs, died Feb. 15 of heart failure at Northwest Hospital Center.

The longtime Windsor Mill resident was 77.

The son of farmers, Mr. Stanfield was born in Baltimore and raised on the family dairy farm at McDonogh Road and Church Lane in Randallstown.

After graduating from Milford Mill High School in 1952, Mr. Stanfield earned a bachelor's degree in 1956 from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Mr. Stanfield began working in 1956 as treasurer of Edrich Farms Inc. on Old Court Road in Windsor Mill and was also treasurer of Edrich Farms Nursery Inc.

In 1962, he established and served as president of Edrich Lumber Inc., located at the site of Edrich Farms Inc. and Edrich Farms Nursery Inc.

Mr. Stanfield began the operation with a small mill cutting logs into lumber, with the sawdust and shavings being turned into mulch. He became one of the largest producers of mulch in the area.

Later, as the need arose for the proper disposal of brush and wood debris, he expanded again when he developed another business that grew into one of the largest recyclers of wood products in the Baltimore area.

Mr. Stanfield served commercial customers as well as homeowners who came to Windsor Mill for plants, mulch, stone and lumber.

Clifford "Cliff" Harbeson began working for Mr. Stanfield in 1987, and after a four-year hiatus, returned in 2000.

"He was a father figure to me, and we were very close. Dick is a great man," said Mr. Harbeson, the company's business manager. "He would never give anyone a task that he wouldn't do himself, from sweeping floors to cleaning toilets. He was extremely down to earth."

He described Mr. Stanfield as being "a dry-witted, simple, yet complex man."

"Dick was hard-working. He'd be on the hill in his un-air-conditioned 965 Caterpillar loader in 90-degree weather, working right alongside the other guys," said Mr. Harbeson.

"He'd wait on the customers and would load topsoil or mulch whether they were commercial or homeowners. Nothing was out of his scope," he said. "He was a hands-on boss."

He credited Mr. Stanfield with expanding the lumber business into the international arena.

"We'd sell green or kiln-dried lumber to commercial lumberyards and mills. We sold it to homeowners who wanted to build a fence or had other projects where they needed lumber," said Mr. Harbeson. "We also exported kiln-dried lumber to China and South Africa. Dick was quite the entrepreneur."

A fan of animals, Mr. Stanfield had more than 30 cats roaming his farm.

"He'd feed them and make sure they had all of their shots," said Mr. Harbeson.

Family members said that while Mr. Stanfield didn't always express his praise to his employees, he demonstrated it in other ways.

"He was generous to a fault. When people had trouble with their finances, especially in these troubled times, they could go to Dick and he'd give them a loan and never charge any interest," said Mr. Harbeson. "He was exceptional."

Since 2001, Mr. Stanfield had been a partner with his brother, Edward Fite Stanfield Jr. of Windsor Mill, in Edrich Enterprises, which began building the first in a series of developments on the property.

Mr. Stanfield had been president of the Maryland Lumberman's Association, and after it became the Maryland Forests Association in 1986, he served as vice president of its Central Maryland division, and treasurer since 1987.

For nearly 40 years, Mr. Stanfield played a major role in the development and expansion of the old Baltimore County General Hospital, which changed from a 93-bed facility to a 240-bed community hospital. It was renamed Northwest Hospital Center in the 1990s.

He served as a member of the Baltimore County General Hospital from 1964 to 1968 and was vice president from 1967 to 1968.

He was first vice president when ground was broken for the new hospital in 1974, and when it opened three years later, was president of the board.

Mr. Stanfield was chairman of the board from 1980 to 1983 and president of Baltimore County General Hospital Foundation & Health Systems Inc. from 1984 to 1987.

From 1999 to 2004, Mr. Stanfield was a member of the board of trustees of LifeBridge Health, with which Northwest Hospital Center is now affiliated.

He was a member for 50 years and a former president of the Lions Club of Randallstown.

Mr. Stanfield was an active member of Mount Olive United Methodist Church in Randallstown, and had served on its administrative board and board of trustees as president.

He was an avid vegetable and flower gardener, especially of dahlias. He looked forward to his family's annual summer vacation in South Bethany Beach, Del. He also liked fishing and boating on the Chesapeake Bay.

Funeral services were Tuesday at his church.

In addition to his brother, survivors include his wife of 52 years, the former Roberta "Bobbie" Lerch; three daughters, Stacy Wolinskiand Nancy Weizman, both of Windsor Mill, and Lauren Bennett of Marlinton, W.Va.; and 10 grandchildren.

fred.rasmussen@baltsun.com