Richard R. Langhoff, 88, of Mattapoisett died April 25, 2024 unexpectedly at Tobey Hospital.
He was the husband of Ilona B. (Gorun) Langhoff.
Born in Pittsburgh, PA, son of the late Florence V. (Smiechowski) Krauterbluth, step-son of the late Paul J. Krauterbluth and son of the late Rudolph Langhoff, he lived briefly in Chula Vista, CA and Acushnet before moving to Mattapoisett in 1970.
He was a 1953 graduate of Langley High School in Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh, School of Engineering, class of 1964.
Mr. Langhoff was a Vietnam Era veteran, and trained primarily as a U.S. Air Force pilot through the Aviation Cadet program in class 58-C/D. He held a commercial pilot’s license with an instrument rating at the time of his death. He was a very close friend and served in flight crew with the late David E. Frawley, Jr. of Mattapoisett.
He began his work career as a technician at Westinghouse Electric’s Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory. At Bettis, he worked his way through college, but interrupted his education and joined the U.S. Air Force. Upon graduation with a BS in Metallurgical Engineering, he worked as a metallurgist for a number of companies in Pennsylvania, California, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. He retired from Raytheon’s Integrated Defense Systems, Portsmouth, RI as a Principal Systems Engineer in 2002. He also was a Professional Engineer in Massachusetts. In retirement, he was a licensed school bus driver, and driver for the Mattapoisett Council on Aging.
Mr. Langhoff was a member of (ASM), and later the (ASMINT) at Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
He was an accomplished author of over 800 company proprietary technical reports, seven technical publications, and one U.S. Patent including two disclosures.
He was a former Vice-President, President of the St. Anthony’s Church Couple’s Club in Mattapoisett, and served as a Lector for 39 years and infrequent Usher since building the “New” St. Anthony’s Church in 1974.
He was a Lifetime Volunteer Flight Crew member of the Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation. Mattapoisett Machacam Club, and an over 35 year member of the American Legion, Florence Eastman Post 280 where he served as Chaplain.
He had an extreme love for sports cars with the owning of a prize winning 1958 Triumph TR3-A roadster.. He loved to exercise and was very active in bicycling until 2024 when his health declined. He had a lifelong passion for amateur astronomy and combined that passion with his interest in photography for the capture of many deep sky astrographs. He was the owner of an eight inch diameter Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope at his passing. He also was a passionate football fan, and particularly enjoyed his beloved “Pittsburgh Steelers” and his alma mater “Pitt Panthers.”
Survivors include his wife; a son, David Langhoff and his wife Trudy of Maynard, MA; a daughter, Kristen Henriques and her husband Scott of Fairhaven; a step-brother, Joel Langhoff of Lake Jackson, TX; a half-sister, Janet Hitz and her husband John of Graysville, PA; 4 grandchildren, Gretchen, Caleb, Ingrid and Katherine; 4 nieces and nephews, Bradley Langhoff, Robert Langhoff and Kendyl Warren; and Jonathan Hitz and his wife Caroline.
He was the brother of the late Ronnie Langhoff and the step-brother-in-law of the late Elaine Langhoff.
His Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Tuesday, April 30th at 10 am at St. Joseph’s Church, 74 Spring St., Fairhaven. Burial will follow in Cushing Cemetery. Visiting hours are omitted. Arrangements are with the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Rd. (Rt. 6), Mattapoisett. For online guestbook, visit www.saundersdwyer.com.
