Obituary of Richard M. Whitney

Richard Merrill Whitney, Jr., 78, of Duxbury, MA, died on Wednesday, July 25, 2018 at home.

Funeral services will be held at Holy Family Parish in Duxbury on Monday, July 30 at 11 am followed by a reception at Duxbury Senior Center. The burial will be private. Shepherd Funeral Home (shepherdfuneralhome.com) is handling the arrangements.

Dick was born in Dover, NH to Richard M Whitney, Sr. and Jeannette McGrail Whitney on August 28, 1939. He graduated from the Roxbury Latin School in 1957, the United States Naval Academy in 1961, and earned Master’s degrees in Marine Architecture and Naval Engineering from MIT.

He served in the Pacific before becoming an Engineering Duty Specialist, serving in Quincy (MA), Yokosuka (Japan), Mayport (FL), and Washington, DC. After retiring from the Navy in 1981 at the rank of Commander he later served as Vice-President and Group Manager at ANADACuntil 1996 when he relocated to Duxbury where he served on the Town Finance Committee, the Council on Aging Board (also serving as Chair from 2005-6), and as a Trustee of the Duxbury Beach Reservation. Dick lived his faith as a parishioner at Holy Family Parish, serving for many years as a leader in the RCIA program, a lector, a Eucharistic minister, and on the Financial Council.

He is survived by his wife, Deborah Oakes Whitney, his children, Richard, Barbara, Christopher, his brothers Tom and Stephen, sisters Charlotte and Beth, and many beloved nieces and nephews. 

Memorial donations may be made in his name to the Duxbury Senior Center, My Brother’s Keeper, or Holy Family Parish.