Richard V. McDevitt, Jr., age 83, passed peacefully on Friday, February 23rd 2024, after a long courageous battle with cancer.

Richard (Dick) was born in Boston on April 30, 1940, son of Richard V. McDevitt, Sr. and Bertha (Walsh) McDevitt of Somerville.  Both parents worked for the city of Somerville; his father a Somerville Fire Fighter, dying in the line of duty, February 29th 1952, and his mother, Bertha, at City Hall until her retirement.

Dick attended the Morse School for Kindergarten, then St Theresa's at Saint Catherine's.  Dick was active in the Boys Scouts and made lifelong friends with John Rosicky, Donald Swimm, Paul Konig and Billy Bannister, John Denning. Dick went on to earn his Eagle Scout. In continuing in the Eagle tradition, Dick became a BC Double Eagle, graduating from BC High, Class of 1958 and Boston College, Class of 1962.

While in grammar school, Dad ran a newsstand in front of Saint Catherine's, selling Sunday Boston Globe and Herald, and held this role until 1997. During his high school years, he worked at Brown's Pharmacy as a Soda jerk and became Mr. Brown's Righthand man.

During college he was worked at Reader's Digest.  He also met his wife, Maureen and had his first child, Kelly.

Shortly after graduating, he had a second child, Michelle, and then moved to Lexington before having their next two children, Tracy and Richard Keith.  He went on to work at MIT and in his spare time enjoyed barbequing, taking his family to Fairs, and vacationing in Maine.  He remained at MIT until he started his entrepreneurial phase of life.  He ran a laundry matte, and he became co-owner of the RoseBud Surrey Room. He also was Secretary and Treasurer for the Minuteman Dart League and participated and even won some tournaments.

Dick enjoyed sports, especially hockey and attended several Super Bowls (before the Patriots became a power house).  He was a history buff and reading either the newspaper or the book in hand. He loved gardening his entire life, fruits and vegetables to flowers. He also had a passion for music.

During Dick's retirement years, he became a volunteer event coordinator at The Burren, in Somerville, for music, arts and sporting events. This became his second home and family. He also traveled to see European Football in Ireland, to the Turks and Caicos and various other places. If that was not enough, he took Medical Class at Harvard Medical School.

He will be remembered for his quick wit, humor, and always being there to help, and keeping company with friends with a cup of tea or a beer or two. His banter among friends will be sorely missed.

In addition to his lifelong friends and his Burren Family, he leaves behind his wife, Maureen (Deary), his daughters, Kelly of Lynn MA, Michelle of Littleton MA and Tracy of Lynchburg VA, as well as his brother, Phillip of Hyannis, MA and his children.  Last, he leaves behind his grandchildren, Joely and Nolan Garber, and Arianna Smith McDevitt. He was predeceased by his son, Richard Keith, who passed of SIDS and his first grandchild, Scot Richard McDevitt.

We want to acknowledge the special care he received in his last days Neville Place in Cambridge and Care Dimensions for their extremely skilled nursing and their compassionate and comprehensive full-service hospice care.

Visiting hours and remembrances will be held in the George L. Doherty Funeral Home 855 Broadway (Powder House Sq.), Somerville, Thursday, February 29th from 4 -7 pm. with a Prayer Service beginning at 6:15pm. Relatives and friends invited to attend.

A Zoom meeting of the services can be accessed by Meeting ID 259 103 5817 and Passcode 2b4Bjs

A private burial will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers contributions in his name may be to Somerville Firefighters Local 76, 266 Broadway, Somerville, MA 02145 or Scouts of America, https://www.scouting.org/