Richard “Dick” George Rand of High Point, NC, age 87, passed away at home on Thursday, September 5, 2019. Dick leaves behind his loving wife of 63 years, Yvette “Eve” (Rajotte) Rand; his sister, Nancy (Rand) Dolson of Virginia Beach, VA; his brother, William “Bill” Rand and wife, Martha “Marti” (Bennison) of Port Charlotte, FL; his son, Kevin and wife, Paula (Daft), from Flagstaff, AZ; his son, James and wife, Victoria (Sanderson), from Landenberg, PA; his daughter, Janice and husband, David Vaughn, from Natick, MA; his son, Timothy and fiancée, Sandra Murore, from Cambridge, MA; his daughter, Betsy and husband, James Morrison, of Bonita Springs, FL; his son, Peter and wife, Jennifer Pultz, of Portland, OR; 13 grandchildren; and 9 nieces and nephews.
Dick, the son of George Bradford Rand and Mae Madelyn Butler Rand of Forestville, CT, was born on January 8, 1932. After graduating from Bristol High School in 1949 and from the University of Connecticut in 1954 with a degree in Civil Engineering, he served for two years in the US Army, stationed for the last 12 months in Herzogenaurach, Germany. He married Eve in Germany on May 6, 1956, and the young couple lived in Germany for the remainder of Dick’s tour before returning to Connecticut.
Dick retired in 1994 after a long career in the precast concrete industry covering many responsibilities in engineering and construction, living and working in seven states. He finished his career with his favorite job as a consultant promoting the industry for PCI Central Region out of Dayton, OH.
Dick and Eve retired to Southern Shores, NC, in a house they both played a role in imagining, designing, and building. Dick took great pride in his design and carpentry skills, all self-taught at an early age, and much of his spare time was consumed by various house projects. His retirement home was intentionally left unfinished so he could devote some of his retirement to completing the construction and interior design to their liking. Dick and Eve’s love of the ocean and beach drew them to the coast of North Carolina for retirement; the Outer Banks in North Carolina had been the favored family vacation spot for decades, drawing the growing family together every summer. While there, Dick, a devout Catholic, attended daily mass and volunteered his time with his church (Church of the Holy Redeemer). In retirement he became fascinated with aviation history, and he volunteered for many years as a docent at the Wright Brothers Memorial in Kitty Hawk. Dick also developed a strong interest in music ranging from Mozart to Preservation Hall Jazz to Barbara Streisand to Billy Joel. His reading list, well-documented, included 284 books (mostly related to history), including the Bible.
Dick and Eve moved to Pennybyrn at Maryfield, a nonprofit retirement community in High Point, NC in 2002, and Dick remained an active volunteer, including serving several years on the Pennybyrn Board, helping to oversee a significant expansion in housing and facilities on the property. Dick was active in the Pennybyrn congregation and Christ the King Church.
Dick will be remembered as a loving husband and deeply caring father, son, brother, uncle, nephew, cousin, and friend. Dick was extremely proud of his family, and was a caring (and well-cared for) member of the Pennybryn community for many years. In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations be directed to the Resident Care Campaign at Pennybyrn (109 Penny Road, High Point, NC 27260), assisting residents who have exhausted their own financial resources or to Christ the King Catholic Church (1505 MLK Jr. Drive, High Point, NC 27260).
There will be a funeral mass at 10AM on Wednesday, September 11 in the chapel at Pennybyrn in High Point. A reception with light refreshments will follow in Ilderton Hall at Pennybyrn from 11AM-1PM.
