Born at the end of the Second World War, 1945, Richard Vennard Basch passed away August 14, 2026.

A graduate of Antioch College (1968), he owned a photography, video, and writing studio on Connecticut Ave, NW for 25 years. He had a career as a free-lance travel and food journalist for over 35 years. As an academic, he taught film-making and film history, simultaneously, at Rhode Island School of Design and Brown University. He also presented and programmed a successful lecture series, The Masters of Photography, at the Smithsonian Institution for more than 25 years.

Mr. Basch was married twice: first to Meredith Baker, with whom he fathered a son, Nicholas, and, later to Vicki Sylvester.  Both marriages ended in divorce. He was single for the last 50 years of his life.

He was a member of Sukyo Mahikari, for over 30 years and previously was a member of St Columba Episcopal Church where he served as a minister of healing for many years.