Richard Thomas Begley

A funeral mass for Richard T. "Dick" Begley will be celebrated at 1pm on Friday, May 20, at St. Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church, Park Ave. at York St. Interment will follow at Calvary Cemetery. A Vigil Service will take place on Thursday at 6pm and then the family will receive friends until 8pm at GEORGE FUNERAL HOME & CREMATION CENTER, 211 Park Ave. SW, Aiken. Memorial donations may be directed to ACTS, 340 Park Ave. SW Aiken, SC 29801.

Mr. Begley, 80, of Aiken, died Sunday, May 15, 2011 at Aiken Regional Medical Centers

Born in Trenton, NJ, he was the son of the late Thomas Patrick Begley and Helen Dobry Begley. Before moving to Aiken in 1988, he had lived in Pittsburgh, PA.

Graduating first in his engineering class at Lehigh University in 1953, Richard went on to have a 40 year, prestigious career at Westinghouse in the metallurgical and nuclear engineering fields. His distinctions include being awarded seven US patents, elected as a Fellow in the American Society of Metals, awarded the Westinghouse Order of Merit - their highest corporate achievement award - and being inducted into the Hall of Fame for Engineering, Science and Technology.

In retirement, he continued as a consultant , using his vast knowledge of engineering and business. He then turned to helping those less fortunate by volunteering for multiple organizations, including being President of ACTS Area Churches Together Serving Board of Directors and Chairman of St. Mary's Help of Christians Buildings Committee for a new church. He loved his family, gardening, aviation history, traveling, the NJ shore, and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Dick is survived by his wife, Doris Dean Begley, Aiken; three daughters, Barbara Keith Foster, Maryville, TN, Maura Mike Burns, Alexandria, VA and Kathleen James Powe, Aiken; a brother, James Begley, Lynchburg, VA and a sister, Peg Herald, Trenton, NJ. He is also survived by three grandchildren, David Carla Foster, Beth Paul Foster and Jim Foster and two great grandsons, Jack Foster and Richard Foster.