Richard S. Fein

Richard S. Fein, born April 23,1923 in Milwaukee, WI, died peacefully at home, December 7, 2019 in New Paltz, NY. He was the son of the late Adolph Milton Fein and Belle Baum Fein, and was predeceased by his sister Barbara Derber and sons-in-law Michael Goldfinger and Laurence Paradis.

Dick was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. He was an avid athlete: a competitive swimmer in high school, rowed crew in college, hiked, and mountain biked. He continued to bike until he was ninety. Shortly before his ninetieth birthday he traveled on his own to the Panama Canal.

A warm, kind, modest man with a dry wit, Dick never talked about his many accomplishments. He not only had a very successful professional life, but also contributed in many ways, large and small, to his community and nation, including United Way volunteer work, the Town of Poughkeepsie’s Conservation Advisory Committee, and The United States Navy during WWll. Dick graduated from Sherwood High School, Sherwood, WI. He did his undergraduate work at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he then earned a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering.

Dick had a 33 year career at the Texaco Research Lab, Glenham, NY, where he worked in basic and applied research. Among many other applications, his research led to the development of lubrication for artificial bone joints. His last assignment at the lab was in the company’s Environmental Department. He received the Captain Alfred E. Hunt Memorial Award in1967 from the Society of Lubrication Engineers. He authored or co-authored dozens of articles. Dick was a 70-year member of the American Chemical Society; a founding member of the Tribology and Lubrication Society; taught at Columbia University’s Mechanical Engineering Department for 7 years and presented semi-annual seminars to the Society of Automotive Engineers for more than a decade.

Dick was active with the Engineering Foundation from 1984-1997, serving as board chair for several years. He helped transition the Foundation into the Engineering Conferences International from 1997-2015, where he was liaison to diverse engineering conferences.

He is survived by his wife of 71 years, Harriet Kronman Fein; daughters Ellen Fein (Steve Worona), Beth Fein (Mike DiFilippo), Judy Fein; and grandchildren Phillip DiFilippo (Lauren Ungs), Andrés LaFlor, Becky Goldfinger-Fein, Josh Paradis, and Hal Paradis.

Funeral services took place Tuesday, December 10, 2019 at 1:00PM at Vassar Temple, Poughkeepsie, NY. The family requests in lieu of flowers that donations be made to the Richard S. and Harriet K. Fein Hudson Valley Community Foundation, or the Richard S. and Harriet K. Fein Foundation at the University of Wisconsin Foundation, Madison, WI, or a charity of your choice.

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