Dick Yancey, 97, to be remembered at Plymouth Church memorial service

With his late wife, Mary Anne, Yancey planted seeds of cultural renaissance

March 1, 2024 Special to the Brooklyn Eagle

Richard and Mary Ann Yancey were partners in nurturing numerous local community institutions. Photos courtesy of the Yancey family

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BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — Richard Charles Yancey, 97, who died peacefully at home in February, served for more than half a century as a transformative cultural leader in Brooklyn with his late wife, Mary Anne. A respected international financier, dedicated philanthropist, and fervent advocate for Brooklyn, Dick was born into a pioneering family in Spokane, Washington.

After serving in the Navy at the end of WW II and graduating with distinction from Harvard Business School, he relocated to New York City in 1952, where he met the love of his life and fellow Washingtonian, Mary Anne Shaffer. They wed in 1956 and settled in Brooklyn Heights, where they raised their family.

Dick Yancey, respected financier, dedicated philanthropist and cultural leader in Brooklyn.Photos courtesy of the Yancey family — Dick Yancey, respected financier, dedicated philanthropist and cultural leader in Brooklyn.
Photos courtesy of the Yancey family

Together, Dick and Mary Anne were one of a small group of devoted, passionate modern-day pioneers who planted the seeds of Brooklyn’s cultural renaissance. They were truly partners in nurturing numerous local community institutions, whose boards and committees got a “two-for-one” brain trust of advice and support. Dick and Mary Anne were one of the founding families of Saint Ann’s School, attended by six of their progeny, as well as longtime supporters of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the Brooklyn Museum, among others. Dick’s passion for music (and his beautiful tenor voice) inspired his service on the board of the Grammy Award-winning Brooklyn Youth Chorus, which Mary Anne had previously chaired, and as a director of the Brooklyn Chamber Music Society.

He was a long-time active member, former president and past trustee of Plymouth Church, where Mary Anne also played a very active role, becoming the first female council president in the church’s 175-year history. Additionally, Dick was a trustee of Beekman Downtown Hospital and was on the board of overseers at his alma mater, Whitman College.

Dick flourished in his career as a managing director at the Wall Street investment banking firm Dillon, Read & Co. Inc. A leader in utilizing the power of finance for diplomacy, he notably supported emerging markets in postwar Japan and Italy and played a pivotal role in the Middle East during the ’70s and ’80s. His contributions continued after the fall of the Berlin Wall, when he served as vice chair of the Czech and Slovak American Enterprise Fund, receiving the President’s Call to Service Award in 2006.

Richard and Mary Ann Yancey were partners in nurturing numerous local community institutions.

Dick’s many domestic clients included Chevron, CIT Financial, TWA, the City of New York and the New York Power Authority. Throughout his career, Dick’s counsel was highly valued, both personally and professionally. He was a director of the Principal Funds, chair of the WM Group of Funds, and a senior advisor to both AdMedia Partners and Midwood Securities. His interest in people was genuine, and many younger professionals turned to Dick for career advice and support.

Preceded in death by his beloved wife of 57 years, Mary Anne (2013), and brother Robert (2020), Dick is survived by his three children: Leslie of Whitefish, MT; Jennifer of Taos, NM: and Richard Jr. (Inger) of Brooklyn, NY, as well as his grandchildren, Gavin, Connor, Oliver, Elia, and Neal. Dick will be deeply missed by us all. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 6, at 2:00 p.m., at Plymouth Church in Brooklyn Heights. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations to the Brooklyn Youth Chorus’s Mary Anne & Dick Yancey Memorial Fund or the Brooklyn Chamber Music Society.