Beloved Liddicoat Leaves a Legacy of Leadership and Giving
By Amanda J. Luke

Richard T. Liddicoat had three great loves while he was at  GIA: education, gemology and people. He devoted his life to all of them.

He was fascinated and inspired by the beauty of gemstones, he nurtured and guided thousands of students and employees, and he promoted knowledge and integrity to the gem and jewelry industry.

Along the way he became known as the Father of Modern Gemology and built the Institute into the world’s foremost authority in gemological  education. He was a pioneer who guided it into the industry’s premier source for education, research, gemological instrumentation and laboratory services.

But through it all he remained a humble and genuine man who simply loved the day-to-day discoveries of gemology and who listened with interest and pleasure to all who dropped by his office for a visit.

“Dick once said that GIA was the best thing that ever happened to him in his life,” said Emae Bradbury, his companion in later years. “He loved it. GIA was the most important thing in his life.”

Liddicoat wanted to make sure the Institute he worked so hard to build would continue to grow when he was gone. To that end, he left the bulk of his estate – more than $3 million – to GIA’s Endowment Fund.

“This gift shows the level of commitment and dedication Mr. Liddicoat had to the science of gemology and to GIA,” said William E. Boyajian, president of the Institute. “It demonstrates his belief in the difference GIA can make for countless people for generations to come. He has truly left a legacy – a legacy of leadership and of giving.”

By all accounts, Liddicoat’s first love was education and many of the initiatives he pioneered were a result of his desire to further educate students, including, the creation of many AGS Conclave classes, publication of his Handbook of Gem Identification, development of GIA’s International Diamond Grading SystemTM, publication of numerous gemological articles, and the development of GIA coursework across the globe.

Liddicoat also loved the students and the people who worked at GIA, said Brook Ellis, vice president of Education for GIA.

“The students, staff and graduates were all family to him,” Ellis said.

He was genuinely interested in everyone he met and would spend hours listening and asking questions. He thought of the students as his children and took great pride in their accomplishments, Bradbury said.

His passion for gemology was inseparable from his enthusiasm for teaching. Indeed, his two loves often became one.

“He just wanted to impart everything he knew about gemology to other people,” Bradbury said.

“I think he wanted to leave this money here because he wanted the Institute to go on forever. Not that his money is going to make it go forever, but it will help,” Bradbury said. “Knowing what he built here, and the leadership that was in place to carry it on, he just wanted it to continue long after he was gone, for the good of the trade and the public.”