Richard L. Higgins, 87, of Beverly, died on June 27, 2012, at the E.N. Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital in Bedford following a lengthy illness. He leaves his wife, Marion (Burchsted); four children: Stephen and his fiancée Leanne Pollock from Seattle, Cynthia from Beverly, Richard F. and his wife Brenda of Haverhill, and Timothy and his girlfriend Meg Kincaid of Chicago; one granddaughter, Keely; 5 brothers: George, Russell, David, James, and Paul; 4 sisters: Ellen Dulavitz, Sally DiPrisco, Dolly Carey, and Nancy Amidon. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews.

Richard was a retired turbine engineer at Haverhill Paperboard Corp. and was a World War II Navy veteran, who served on D-Day in the Normandy invasion.

He enjoyed skiing and camping with his family and had a unique ability to build and fix just about anything. He used these skills to help those in need. One of the projects he undertook was the installation of a solar panel system to generate electricity and a pump that supplied water to a new hospital in Fond-des-Blancs, Haiti.

Visitation will be held on Sun., July 1, from 2:00 to 5:00 P.M. at the Bedford Funeral Home, 167 The Great Rd., Bedford, MA. His funeral Mass will be held on Mon., July 2, at 9:30 A.M. at the Bedford VA Chapel, 200 Springs Rd., Bldg, 81(near far end of campus on Springs Rd). (See http://www.bedford.va.gov/visitors/bedfordmap.asp)
Interment will be at Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne at 1:00 P.M.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the GRECC Program for Alzheimer's Research, 200 Springs Rd., Bedford, MA 01730.