Richard M. Moroney

Richard Morgan Moroney, Jr. was born October 19, 1929 in New York City, to Richard and Elizabeth Moroney. He grew up in Brooklyn with one sister, Elizabeth. After graduating from Brooklyn Polytechnic High School, he attended MIT and received his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering in 1951. He immediately joined the US Air Force and was trained as a fighter pilot. He served in the Korean War as part of the 334th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, where he was wingman to jet ace Pete Fernandez. Afterwards he was a test pilot and Flight Gunnery Instructor at Nellis Air Force Base. He earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with one Oakleaf Cluster for his service to his country.After his discharge in 1955, he returned to MIT, where he earned two advanced degrees in Electrical Engineering. He then changed departments to Mathematics, and earned his PhD in Mathematics in 1961. He taught mathematics at MIT for several years, during which time he co-authored a textbook on probability (Introduction to Probability Theory by James McCord and Richard Moroney).During the 1960's, Dr. Moroney had a successful consulting practice in Boston. In 1970 he joined Raytheon in Bedford, Massachusetts, where he worked as Consulting Scientist on advanced missile systems, including the Patriot missile. He retired from Raytheon in 1979. Shortly thereafter he started a computer software and hardware consulting business, CAC of Sanford (Maine). Among other projects, he developed a Remote Sensing Unit to record seismological data in remote areas, using then brand-new mini-computer technology.In 1959 Dick married Joan Elizabeth Clark, also an MIT graduate, in Boston. They had three children, daughter Anne Elizabeth in 1960, Jean Florence in 1963, and Richard III in 1965. The family moved to Sanford in 1970. Throughout the 1970's, Dick commuted from Sanford to Bedford in his own single-engine Yankee airplane. In the mid-1990s he and his wife started wintering in North Fort Myers, Florida.Throughout his life Dick developed many keen interests. As a youth, he learned many languages, including German, French, Latin, Japanese, Swahili, and Bengali--the last chosen for its unusual linguistic properties. After he retired he learned Arabic.Always a wit, he claimed that as an undergraduate at MIT, he majored in bridge and minored in sailing. He earned varsity letters in both sailing and fencing.During the 1960's he raced Star boats out of the Winthrop (Massachusetts) Yacht Club, once qualifying for the North American championship. Later in life he took up windsurfing.He was a lifetime "ham" radio operator, W1ERW, who was certified as copying Morse code at 40 words per minute. He built his own rigs and ran the Maine "Pine Tree Net" on Friday nights for several years in the early 80's. Recently he took up skeet shooting, and was a member of shooting clubs in Maine and Florida.Dick was an avid game-player throughout his life. In addition to playing chess, bridge, and board games, he used his computer skills to develop elaborate Dungeons & Dragons adventures for the family to play together.He returned to tournament bridge in the 1990's with his wife, Liz. He played actively in clubs in Maine and Florida, and became a Bronze Life Master.He died October 21 at his home. He is survived by his wife, Joan Elizabeth (Clark) Moroney of Sanford, Maine, three children: Anne Moroney of New York City, Jean (and Harry) Binswanger of New York City, Richard (and Karen) Moroney of Princeton, New Jersey, and one grandchild, Elsa Elizabeth Moroney.