Richard M. Nault

Richard M. Nault, 86, of Manchester, NH died April 30, 2026 while traveling in Winchester, VA.

Born on August 8,1939, in the family home at 59 Arlington Street, Manchester, NH, he was the son of Albert T. and Blanche (Roy) Nault. Dick had also lived in Bedford, NH; Manchester, NH; Gilford, NH; and Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

He is survived by his wife and partner of 40 years, Karen L. Heller; siblings, Albert EV Nault (deceased), Paul Nault (deceased); Phyllis Nault Leinsing Schultz, Carol Nault (deceased); and Jane Nault Blais.

He is also survived by 7 Children: Donna Nault Betterini (and her husband Jeff) of Epping, NH; Suzanne Nault Turgeon (and her husband Paul) of Manchester, NH; Carol Nault of Laconia, NH; Paul Nault ( and his wife Annie) of Hooksett, NH; Michelle Nault Lamarine (and her husband Peter) of Manchester, NH; Michael Nault of Laconia, NH; and Alexandra (“Allie”) Nault of Dallas, TX.

He also leaves 9 grandchildren: Benjamin, Shaun, Christopher, Aaron, Meghan, Ryan, Cameron, Ian, and Hannah as well as 6 great-grandchildren: Bradley, Caden, Tucker, Brayden, Aspen, and Amara.

He attended St George Grammar School through 1954 and graduated Bishop Bradley High School in 1958.

Dick had a strong work ethic starting as a child. At the age of 10, he had a paper route for the Union Leader, delivering the papers after school on his bike. When he first got the route he had 34 customers. By the end of his first year he had more than doubled his customers. At 16, when he got his license, he started working for the district manager managing the paper distribution in the North End and East End of Manchester. When Dick graduated high school, he started working full time in the Circulation Department.

In 1959, at the age of 19, Dick’s father’s health took a turn for the worse, requiring Dick to leave the Union Leader and take over the family business.

Dick worked almost his entire life in the family business which started in 1908 when Dick’s grandfather, George Nault, had a small shop that sold bicycles and general merchandise. In 1935, he passed away, and Dick’s father, Albert Nault, continued to run the shop and actually bought the business in 1939 which is also the year Dick was born. Dick started hanging around the bike shop when he was five years old, often riding his bike from the family home on 59 Arlington St to the shop on 30-32 Bridge Street to bring his father his lunch. By the age of 12, Dick could totally repair a bike.

In 1962, Honda approached Dick and his father to take on motorcycles, and they accepted. They were actually one of the very first East Coast Honda dealers. In 1966, when Dick was 26 years old, he bought his father out. In 1970, he added Honda cars along with the motorcycles becoming one of the first Honda car dealers in the East. Dick continued to expand the business, becoming the “Transportation Authority” with three bicycle shops; Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Triumph, and Ducati motorcycle franchises; and Ford, Honda, Mercedes, Lincoln-Mercury, Acura, Suburu, Datsun (now Nissan), GMC, Ford, Isuzu, and Mercedes Benz truck franchises. His dealerships won numerous awards including Top Ten Ford Dealers in the United States; Number One Suzuki dealer in the United States; Number Three Kawasaki dealer in the United States; and Number One Honda dealer in the East.

As Dick got older he sold off his automotive dealerships, retaining four motorcycle locations: Windham, New Hampshire; Manchester, New Hampshire; Littleton, New Hampshire (which he acquired in 2020 at the age of 81); and Seacoast Indian in North Hampton, New Hampshire (which he acquired in 2023 at the age of 83).

Although Dick is probably best known for his involvement with automobiles, motorcycles, and bicycles, his true passion was buying and selling commercial real estate and commercial and residential real estate development. Some of his projects include the development of Huse Road and South Willow Street (presently Olive Garden, Shell, Werner Mazda, Courtyard); 1475 South Willow and 1477 South Willow (presently Autofair); 89 March Ave (presently Town Fair Tire); Willow Tree Plaza at 575 South Willow Street; John Devine Drive (presently BJs, Hannaford, and Manchester Collision Center), Winter Hill Road residential development in Goffstown; and was currently developing the Concord Riverwalk at the location of the former Concord Drive-In.

Although a private person, Dick gained national attention when in 1993 he refused to pay bribes and kickbacks to American Honda in order to receive allocations of cars. His lawsuit uncovered a $10 million kickback scheme involving 13 executives at American Honda who ultimately were found guilty of racketeering, fraud, and conspiracy. Honda additionally paid more than $400 million to Honda dealers to settle claims over the kickbacks.

Dick also served in the Air National Guard doing air transport from 1957-1961 during the Berlin Crisis.

Although he supported a number of non-profit organizations, he was additionally on the Board of Directors of the Manchester Boys and Girls Club and the Manchester Library Foundation.

In his spare time Dick enjoyed hunting, vintage cars, deep-sea fishing, traveling, golf, and boating.

Calling hours at Lambert Funeral Home & Crematory, 1799 Elm St, will be Thursday, May 14th from 2 to 4 pm and 6 to 8 pm. A memorial Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated on Friday, May 15th at 10 am in St. Catherine of Siena Church. Committal prayers will follow in Mt. Calvary Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Manchester Boys and Girls Club, 555 Union Street, Manchester, NH 03104 or Hurst Hospitality House, Winchester Medical Center, PO Box 3340, Winchester, VA 22604-2540.

To send an online message of condolence, please go to www.lambertfuneralhome.com.