Richard Thomas Douty

Richard Thomas Douty

Born in 1930, in Williamsport, PA and raised in Harrisburg, PA, he earned his BS from Lehigh University, an MS from Georgia Institute of Technology and a Ph.D from Cornell University, all in civil engineering.

Richard often said he always considered himself one lucky guy for marrying Patricia Marie Hopkins of Williamsport, PA in 1959.

In his youth he proudly delivered war news as a paperboy in Harrisburg, PA during World War II, and in his early adult life he served four years as a weatherman in the US Navy during the Korean War.  In the summer of 1956, he worked for Wernher von Braun’s rocket group in Huntsville, AL, where he designed a part and made a design modification that may have contributed to the safety of the Jupiter C rocket, which placed America’s first satellite into orbit.  Five of these engines were used together for the moon landings in the Apollo program.

After earning his master’s degree at Georgia Tech, he spent a year as a structural engineer in the steel fabrication division of Bethlehem Steel.  While working on his Ph.D at Cornell, he helped with the design of the Arecibo deep space radio astronomy facility located in Puerto Rico.

Richard served as a Professor of Civil Engineering for 30 years with the Civil Engineering Department, University of Missouri, Columbia, teaching structures and guiding numerous masters and Ph.D students.  In his early years as a professor, he took with him his young family on sabbatical to the University of Michigan and to the University of Pennsylvania.  From early on, Richard was a great believer in the future benefits of computing, and he spent countless hours learning how to make use of the primitive computers of the late 1960s and 1970s.  All this effort laid the foundation for his life after teaching, when he spent many happy years during the advent of personal computing, working with his three sons, creating bridge design software that is still widely used in the industry today.

Richard is survived by his loving wife of 65 years, Patricia H. Douty, with whom he shared the experience of raising four children: Richard K. (Trixie) Douty of Henderson, NV, Eric T. (Joetta) Douty of Columbia, MO, Ellen M. (David) Clarke of llkley, UK, Christopher B. Douty of Boulder, CO, and by four grandchildren, Stephen Clarke, Madeline (Josh) Scheller, Alastair Clarke and Justin Douty.

The family is planning a Celebration of Richard’s life at a later date.

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