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LIBERTY --Richard "Dick" Arthur Dwight James LaFave, of Liberty Township, and formerly for more than 40 years of Pittsburgh, Pa., died on April 10, 2023, after a long illness that he withstood with courage and tenacity.
He was born on D-Day, June 6, 1944, in Detroit, Mich., and grew up in Royal Oak, Mich., the son of the late Marie Donnelly Regan LaFave and Arthur Lafave (Lefebvre), formerly of Ontario, Canada.
He was named in honor of his mother's only sibling, Richard Arthur Regan (USN), who, in 1944, lost his life in World War II, along with 1,800 other American and Allied prisoners of war, when a Japanese freighter with the prisoners aboard was sunk off the waters of China, following friendly fire by an American submarine.
He graduated from St. Charles Preparatory School (Columbus) and The Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in welding engineering. At OSU, he was a member of the Chi Phi Fraternity and the OSU ice hockey team. He earned a Masters of Business Administration from the OSU Kellogg School of Business Administration and was diplomaed and worked as an international welding engineer. He was a licensed professional engineer with honors in Ohio and Pennsylvania, having received the highest score, in 1973, on the professional engineering exam in the state of Ohio.
He was a member of board of directors of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Pennsylvania Professional Engineers, was editor of The Pittsburgh Professional Engineer and served as state director of the Pittsburgh Chapter of Professional Engineers. Combined, he worked over 40 years in Pittsburgh as a senior research engineer at the Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Research and Development Center, and the Elliott Ebara Corporation of Japan as a senior engineer in the technology division.
After retirement, he continued his profession with his own consulting company. He was nationally and internationally known for his many engineering journal articles and publications; the many patents to his name; his lifetime service on many national and international technical committees; and his 50-year membership and chairmanship of the American Welding Society. Both at the high school and university level, he served on engineering advisory boards.
He was a lifelong Democrat -- a believer in civil liberty, social equality and justice for all people. He took great pride in his French surname Lefebvre, and traced his heritage back 10 generations to Jean Baptiste Lefebvre, who came from France to Quebec, Canada, in the early 1600s.
His only sibling, Mary Helen Leonard; her husband, William; and their daughters, Erinn and Heather, preceded him in death.
He leaves one niece, Shannon Leonard Yurek (Jonnie) of Cleveland.
He will be greatly missed and always loved by his wife of 51 years, Carole Mutch LaFave, and their three children, spouses, and grandchildren, whom he deeply loved and of whom he was so proud: Laura Lafave and Peter Hallett of Bristol, England, David LaFave and June Daniels LaFave of Chicago, Ill., and Daniel Lafave and Kalypso Karastergiou of New York City, N.Y.; three grandchildren, Thomas and Emily Hallett and Adeline Lefebvre; and also, beloved brother-in-law, Robert Mutch and Dari McLaughlin of Stuart, Fla., and cherished cousins, Diane and Rick Muccio of Howland.
Funeral services will be private.
Arrangements by Cremation & Funeral Service by Gary S. Silvat Inc. Share memories and send condolences by visiting createohio.com.
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