With a heavy heart, we are sad to report on the passing of Richard Mesirow, the son of our firm’s founder and a beloved leader in our Wealth Management group for nearly six decades before his retirement in 2016.

Richard joined his father at Mesirow as the firm’s 10th employee in 1960. Over his tenure, Richard helped establish, and truly embodied, the firm’s reputation for working to solve our clients’ most pressing needs and our commitment to community. Richard helped advance the careers of many Mesirow colleagues, offering advice or introductions and having a profound impact on careers of professionals throughout the firm.

It is Richard’s passion for bettering his community for which he will be most fondly remembered. A supporter of the arts, Richard drove the establishment of Mesirow’s own “Mesirow Financial Presents” performing arts fundraising series, which from 2011 to 2016 raised nearly $220,000 for area performing arts nonprofits. In the late 1990s, Richard helped found the Rolfe Pancreatic Cancer Foundation in memory of a close friend; the foundation has raised more than $6 million for grants toward early detection research.

After the first of the year, the firm will come together to honor Richard’s legacy through a virtual community service opportunity. Donations in Richard’s honor can be made to Alzheimer’s Association or Rolfe Pancreatic Cancer Foundation.