Richard R. Langhoff, 88

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 builders of the nuclear reactors in the first nuclear submarine, "Nautilus," the world's first commercial nuclear power station at Shippingport, PA, and the first nuclear powered aircraft carrier, "Enterprise." At Bettis, he worked his way through college, but interrupted his education with an enlistment in 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, and performed part time consulting after retirement. In retirement, he was a licensed school bus driver, and driver for the Mattapoisett Council on Aging. 

Mr. Langhoff taught a number of Metallurgy courses under the auspices of the American Society for Metals (ASM), and later the American Society for Materials International (ASMINT) ar Rhode Island and Massachusetts industrial facilities including Roger Williams University in Providence.

He was a Life Member of the ASMINT and served as Vice-Chairman and Chairman of the Rhode Island chapter. He also served nationally as ASM's National Membership Committee Secretary. He was a past member of the American Welding Society (AWS), past member of the International Metallographic Society (IMS), past member of the Fabricators and Manufacturer's Association International (FMA), and past member of the American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM). He was listed in the books "Who's Who in Engineering" and "Who's Who in Technology."

He was an accomplished author of over 800 company proprietary technical reports, seven technical publications, and one U.S. Patent including two disclosures .

Mr. Langhoff was a former coach and manager of Mattapoisett's Little League baseball team "The Wanderer's." He was a former Vice-President and 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 former advisor to the Junior Achievement Program in New Bedford, MA where one year service saw the achievers under his tutelage attain "Company of the Year" and scholarships for all elected officers.

He was a Lifetime Volunteer Flight Crew member of the Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation, a past member of the New England Escadrille, a past member of the Atlantic Warbirds, a member of New England Triumphs, a past member of the Mt. Washington Valley Velo Club, a member of the Mattapoisett Machacam Club, and an over 35 year member of the American Legion, Florece Eastman Post 280 where he served as Chaplain.

He was involved with genealogy and was continually reviewing the family genealogy of Johannes Peter Langhoff, his great-grandfather. He was also a prize winning 1958 Triumph TR3-A sports car owner, and a homebrewer or zymurgist since 1980. His favorite borrowed expression was "Relax, Have a Homebrew!" 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. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Richard's name to the Sacred Hearts Community Missions, 77 Adams St., Fairhaven, MA 02719. Arrangements are with the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Rd. (Rt. 6), Mattapoisett. For online guestbook, visit www.saundersdwyer.com.