Richard Thomas Bumby passed away peacefully at the age of 87 on December 16, 2024, in Livingston, NJ. He had experienced declining health over the last 2 years. He was born on May 29th, 1937 in Brooklyn, NY, where he lived through high school.
His greatest joy in life was mathematics. He was Westinghouse finalist in 1954 and attended MIT for mathematics. While at MIT he was a Putnam Competition winner in 1957. He went on to receive his PhD from Princeton in mathematics. His specialty was number theory. He was editor of the Problems and Solutions section of the American Mathematical Monthly (1991 to 1995) and thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the correspondence and stamps from around the world.
He spent 50 years at Rutgers University in the Math Department from 1960 till retiring in 2010, with his sabbaticals spent at The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI, and Cambridge University. At Rutgers, he created a website with computer, browser, and course information:.
Even after his retirement and illness he continued to work and looked forward to attending the New York Number Theory Seminar.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Minnie (Henderson) and Thomas Bumby, and his first wife, Elizabeth (Winston). He is survived by his wife, Justine (Skalba); 2 daughters, Margaret and Jean; 2 step children, William and John; and 3 grandchildren.
Addendum by Mel Nathanson:
"Bumby was an active and enthusiastic participant in the New York Number Theory from its beginning in January, 1982, and continued to attend the seminar on Zoom until (as Erdos would say) he left. He created and maintained the seminar website, and often lectured in the seminar. We miss him. "