The great impresario that brought tidings of comfort and joy to hundreds of patients has now formally retired.

Of course I am speaking about Mervyn “Denny” Richardson, one of Bermuda’s most talented artists.

He’s performed locally and internationally for the past five decades. For 25 years, until 2012, his rich and inspiring baritone would resonate throughout the corridors and wards of King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

Denny, as he is affectionately known to family and close friends, started singing there in 1987 when his mother was a patient. He would visit her every night, serenading her with her favourite hymns. He did the same for his father when he became a patient.

Having witnessed the great joy that his singing brought to his parents, he was inspired to continue to do it at KEMH as a part of his community outreach, serenading patients with a repertoire of gospel, spirituals and folk songs.

He also performed at various rest homes throughout the island; residents would often welcome him into their room to hear a song of their own choosing.

What inspires someone to pursue such a charitable undertaking? Anyone who knows Denny knows he is a man of deep religious conviction; the hallmark of a good Christian upbringing.

It all started for Denny 76 years ago. He was born in Smith’s on Wednesday, November 13, 1940. He exhibited a keen interest in music as a young child — one of his aunts gifted him with a ukulele when he was 10.

Today he is an accomplished guitarist and an orator with a particular interest in the great speeches of Marcus Garvey and other civil rights giants of the 20th century. It is often awe-inspiring to see him engage and articulate upon the salient issues that dominated the headlines of that era. He is a man of tremendous versatility, conversant in a host of languages, speaking French, German and Portuguese fluently.

Denny graduated from the Berkeley Institute and went on to acquire a bachelor’s degree from Kean College in the USA. At Hammersmith and West London College in England, he served as a student representative on the board of governors; in 1980 he received a master’s degree from Rutgers University and was a guest lecturer at its business school.

The now retired civil servant was office manager of government’s Valuation Department and assistant facilities manager of the West End Development Corporation.

He’s also owned several businesses over the years including construction company Knapton Purchasers and Builders and carpentry firm Khyber Enterprises. The retiree is also often called on as a consultant, producing quantity surveys for small contractors, banks and insurance companies.

Denny is a past president of Leopards Club International. His 12 years in the post makes him the longest serving president since the club’s inception here some 61 years ago. He has also served as a member of the Pembroke Parish Council and on various government boards including the Bermuda Health and Safety Council, the Department of Planning and the Child and Family Services.

Denny is also a keen environmentalist and steadfast in his mission to advance race relations in Bermuda.

Wonderful entertainer: the main photograph shows Denny Richards with his guitar

Inset: Mr Richardson with his beloved ukulele, gifted to him by his aunt in 1950