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Remembering
Richard Ajello
By Dale Ferguson
 Richard Ajello was my friend. I first met him in a flower shop on Avenida Larco in 1947. He was ordering flowers for a person whose name, Inés (my wife) was familiar with and who happened to be the aunt of Marcela, Richard's future wife and Inés' best friend. Inés guessed correctly the connection and immediately said "You are Richard." It was quite a surprise for him, as he had only arrived in Lima a few days before and knew no one other than Marcela. They were married in 1948 and left Peru, and I had no further contact with him until 5 years later when they returned for good. An interesting side note was that on his first trip to Lima, he brought a Lionel miniature train to sell to raise a bit of money, and which he sold by setting it up on the sidewalk on Jirón de la Union and waiting for a buyer. Thus started Richard's business career in Lima.
Richard and Marcela returned to Lima in 1953. He had a well-developed sense of vision and brought with him two very new and exciting franchises which he proceeded to introduce for the first time in Lima. One was Muzak, called Telemusica here, which is piped-in music that he sold to establishments throughout the city. The other was the introduction of FM radio in 1960. Many radios in those days had the capability to receive the FM frequency but there were no radio stations able to transmit it. Richard solved that problem by introducing "Radio 100," the first FM station in Lima, and he set a new standard in radio programming and broadcasting. It is plain to see that he was a pioneer in the field of communications.
Later in his career he had the farsightedness to anticipate the need for quality training in the area of radio and television. He proceeded to build a school exclusively for this purpose and provided it with the necessary high-tech equipment. Thus the "Orson Wells Institute" came into being in 1994. Richard dedicated his entire life to the betterment of quality entertainment in Peru, and I believe the results show it.
Richard and Marcela along with Inés and I and two other couples formed a sort of a mini-club. We would rotate luncheons and holiday get-togethers in our homes, and what good times we had! Richard was a first class story-teller and could talk on any subject. His knowledge and memory were exceptional and he spoke at least six languages. I recall that at many of our reunions Richard and I would be off to one side swapping war stories and many other topics. He was a great entertainer. Our children remember him fondly as he was able to communicate with them and was a wonderful influence in the development of their early childhood.
He was very active in the community, having served on the board of directors of AmCham, IPCNA and the American and Canadian Association. Richard loved large cars. At one time he owned a 1955 Buick and later a beautiful green Chrysler. I recall him saying that when he went on vacation he would only rent the top-of-the-line cars. One of his pastimes was body surfing, and he would spend hours in Country Club de Villa either in the ocean or taking sun while doing crossword puzzles.
Another of Richard's hobbies was playing Poker. He had several poker playing friends who got together once a week for a moment of enjoyment. On Wednesday March 1st the group was having its weekly pastime when Richard suffered a massive heart attack and died instantly. There was no suffering and it was said that he had a peaceful expression on his face. He was cremated on March 2nd and thus came to an end the life of one of the most interesting men I have ever had the privilege of knowing. Rest in peace Richard, your passing is our loss.
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