Richard Frank Trufant
January 5, 1922 — February 21, 2016
Richard Frank Trufant, 94, of Muncy, died Sunday, February 21, 2016 in the Williamsport Regional Medical Center E.R.
Born January 5, 1922 in Nashua, NH, he was a son of the late Frank Albert and Marion Ethel (Chase) Trufant. He and his wife, the former Regina Hilger, celebrated 70 years of marriage before her death December 27, 2014.
Richard was a graduate of Nashua High School, NH and the Wentworth Institute, Boston.
He worked for the Harvard Underwater Sound Lab and Navy Field Station before moving his family from Newport, RI to State College. Richard worked at the Applied Research Lab at Penn State University in collaboration with the U.S. Navy. He developed homing systems for torpedoes used towards the end of World War II. Records state in 1982 that 109 German subs were attacked along the Atlantic coast of the U.S. with these systems. Retiring in 1982 from Penn State, he and his wife moved to Palm Coast, FL. Richard was employed by Cardiac Control Systems, where he developed mechanical designs for reducing the size of pacemakers.
Moving back to PA in 2006 after retirement, he continued to enjoy creating stained glass pieces, playing golf, making music, volunteering at the hospital and delivering Meals on Wheels for several years.
Surviving are two daughters and one son-in-law, Joanne and Lou Cromley, of Hughesville and Mary Lou McClain, of Atlanta; and several nieces and nephews.
In addition to his wife and parents, he was predeceased by two sisters, Elizabeth Ann French and Esther Thomas and a brother, Kenneth Trufant.
Friends will be received from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, March 5 at Grenoble’s, 121 S. Main St., Muncy, where a memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Officiating will be the Rev. Arlene Beechert, pastor of the First United Methodist Church, Muncy.
Richard’s ashes will be interred at Craig Flagler Palms Memorial Gardens in Palm Coast, FL at the convenience of the family.
The family will provide the flowers and suggests memorial contributions be made to the Lycoming Animal Protection Society (LAPS), a no-kill cat shelter, at 195 Phillips Park Dr., South Williamsport, PA 17702.