Richard Blake Havill

Richard Blake Havill, 93, died at his home in Chapel Hill on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, surrounded by his family, after a brief illness. He was born March 23, 1933, in Syracuse, New York, to Thomas P. Havill and Kathryn (Lampert) Havill.

In high school, Richard earned the rank of Eagle Scout, competed in varsity athletics, and was a member of the Senate Society.

He went on to Union College, where he earned a degree in electrical engineering. At Union he was an All-American in varsity lacrosse, played football, and belonged to Psi Upsilon fraternity, the Delphic Honor Society, and ROTC. He served as senior class president and received the Outstanding Student Award. It was also during his Union years that he met Sandra "Sandy" Shaw, a Skidmore College student who would become his wife.

Richard served on active duty in the U.S. Air Force from 1955 to 1957, stationed in Korea and California. He continued in the Reserve until 1971 and was honorably discharged with the rank of captain.

When his service in Korea ended, Richard came home and married Sandy. Over 48 years of marriage, they poured their time, attention, and love into raising their three children, Linda, Andy, and Nancy. In the Havill home, dinnertime was sacred, as was church, and so were "family fun nights," which meant everyone out in the yard working together. Richard and Sandy taught their children the value of hard work and loyalty, the importance of education, and the meaning of honoring a commitment. Family vacations were months in the planning and almost always involved long road trips and camping in the rain.

He began his career with New York Telephone Company in Syracuse and later joined Bell Laboratories, working in its Murray Hill and Holmdel, New Jersey, offices. While at Bell Labs, he earned his Juris Doctor from Seton Hall University. He then practiced as a telecommunications patent attorney, first at Bell Labs and later at Texas Instruments. His work earned him the Lucent Patent Recognition Certificate and the Texas Instruments Senior Patent Fellow Award.

Richard gave generously to his community. He coached youth sports, served as a Boy Scout Scoutmaster, was an active member of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Holmdel, and took cases as a pro bono court-appointed attorney. In his free time he enjoyed golf with friends, canoeing, pickup games with his children, and do-it-yourself projects.

Richard and Sandy retired to Chapel Hill, where he kept up his golf game, collected used books for the local library book sales, ushered at UNC basketball games, took up watercolor painting, and served in many roles at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Durham.

At St. Paul's, where he became known as "Hitch," Richard met and married Rachel Harter. Together they enjoyed travel, visits with family, walks, classic movies, and quiet dinners on the porch.

Richard was the glue that held his family together. He was always the one making plans to bring everyone together: trips to see grandparents, visits with his brother, Thomas, and journeys to spend time with his children and grandchildren wherever they lived. Distance never stood in the way of family.

Above all, Richard treasured his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He loved hearing every bit of news about their lives, their milestones, and their adventures, and he cherished any time he could spend with them.

Richard is survived by his wife, Rachel Harter; his brother, Thomas; his children, Linda (Jack), Richard A. "Andy," and Nancy; his grandchildren, Joshua, Michael (Katie), Annie (Jamie), Jeffrey, Katie (Sarah), and Daniel; and his great-grandchildren, Gwynevere, Charlotte, Ryan, Sienna, and Camden. He was preceded in death by his parents and his first wife, Sandy.

Arrangements are as follows:

  - Visitation, 10:00am October 17, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Durham, NC

  - Funeral, 11:00am October 17, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Durham, NC

            - Livestream Service: https://vimeo.com/event/Havillfuneral

            - Recorded Services: https://vimeo.com/stpaulsdurham/videos

  - Lunch reception, 12:00pm October 17, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Durham, NC

  - Burial, 10:00am October 24, Oakwood Cemetery, Syracuse, NY

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to one of the following:

  - St. Paul's Lutheran Church (memo: Endowment Fund)

     (https://www.stpaulsdurham.org)

  - CORA (https://www.corafoodpantry.org)

  - Tunnel to Towers (https://t2t.org)