Richard B. Palanzi, resident of Framingham, died peacefully on February 6 at the memory care unit of Benchmark Forge Hill Senior Living in Franklin. He had resided there since October 2024. Born in Framingham, he was the son of the late Bruno and Rica (Donati) Palanzi.
He was the beloved brother of Beverly (Palanzi) Schuil of the Netherlands and also leaves his cousins, Dennis Alzapiedi of Milford and Bob Alzapiedi of Bolton. He was blessed with a number of joyful and meaningful relationships during his lifetime.
Richard graduated from Framingham South High School in 1969, after which he attended Lowell State College where he studied music. He obtained his Bachelors degree from Hampshire College, where he studied Communications. Richard also received an MBA from Nichols College. Between 2009 and 2016 he became a certified Lean master and a certified Six Sigma black belt holder.
His career began at Wang Laboratories, where he worked in business development. Following this he spent a short time in commercial scuba retail, underscoring his passion for scuba diving. In 1998 he joined Intel Corporation where he worked for 8 years in financial management and business control. He became a contract consultant for a number of companies during the next five years.
He founded Mindfulness Management Group, which he managed from 2005-2015 and from which he coached the introduction of mindfulness practices to individuals and business teams to promote creative thinking and improve thinking processes.
For two years, he was Operational Excellence Leader at Philips Global and he also worked for Silicon Valley Accountants. Thereafter, Richard worked as a contract consultant and lecturer until 2020.
Richard was an active member and leader of the MetroWest Dive Club for many years, pursuing his beloved hobby of scuba diving, including wreck and cave diving and also teaching and mentoring his hobby to others. He was an accomplished musician and well-known at local open-mic nights.
Family and friends are invited to honor and remember Richard’s life by gathering for visiting hours in the Norton, McKinney & Lawler Funeral Home, 53 Beech St. Framingham on Friday, February 14th from 4-7 PM. His Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday morning in St. Tarcisius Church, 562 Waverly St. Framingham at 10 o’clock. Interment will be private.
In lieu of flowers, donations to support brain research may be made in Richard’s name, by visiting the site of the American Brain Foundation at: https://give.americanbrainfoundation.org/give/559297/#!/donation/checkout?c_src=main
To share a memory with Richard’s family, kindly visit www.nortonfuneralhome.com
McCarthy McKinney Lawler Funeral Home