Richard A. Handy

HANDY, Richard A., age 93, of Concord, previously of Belmont, passed away on May 8, 2020 of Covid-19 at Rivercrest/Newbury Court.  Husband of Esther Handy.  Father of Mark R. and Rachel C., Brent E. and Guadalupe, and Trevor W. and partner Julia Pilant.  Brother of Herbert W.  He is also survived by 7 grandchildren, Phillip, Matthew, Louisa, Emily, Lewis, Eric and Lydia, and former daughters-in-law Susan Eveson Handy and Anne Marie Gabriele.

Richard “Dick” Handy was born in 1927 in Hartford, Connecticut, raised in West Hartford, graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering from UConn, and then worked for the Raytheon Company in its Microwave Power Tube Division in Waltham from 1948 to 1992.  In 1954 he was inducted into the Army and assigned to the Evans Signal Lab, Bellmar, NJ to work in the Microwave Tubes branch.  In September, 1955, he was selected to a five-man Signal Corp. research team to the Antarctic to perform microwave propagation studies on the Ross Ice Shelf, attached to Admiral Richard Byrd’s final expedition to that continent.  This months’ long trip around the world provided fertile ground for his love of photography with his Nikon S2 camera which he purchased in Panama and which became his constant companion during vacations for years to come.

Dick’s great fortune was meeting Esther, visiting Boston from Switzerland in August, 1956, on leave from her company for advanced English language study.  Their chance meeting at Old South Church in Boston turned into a months’ long courtship which culminated in their wedding in Basel, Switzerland, followed by a year in Paris, where Dick was on assignment from Raytheon, before moving back to Belmont and starting a family.  His avocations included sailing the Maine coast, hiking, classical music and all things technical. He loved to build things from scratch with his sons, pour over maps while planning family trips, or listen to his youngest son’s cello practice. Many were the Saturday afternoons he spent listening to opera on his home-made stereo system while writing research proposals.

After Dick´s retirement, he and Esther spent more time in Maine and Switzerland, and visited with their grandchildren, who enjoyed Grandad’s good nature and humor.  He also volunteered, assisting in science courses in the public schools, teaching English as a second language to immigrant families, and serving as a docent at the Mount Auburn Cemetery.

A memorial service at Mt. Auburn Cemetery will be scheduled at a later date.  

Donations in his memory may be made to: 
Rivercrest Long-Term Care Facility 
80 Deaconess Road 
Concord, MA 01742 
Please write "donation" in the memo line 
https://www.nedeaconess.org/giving-payment/donation.htm

Or

Mount Auburn Cemetery

https://mountauburn.org/give/makeagift/ 

 https://mountauburn.org/give/membership/

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