Richard Harold Garvey

Richard Harold Garvey, died on August 31, 2024, at the age of 88. He was born to Noreen and John Garvey in New York City. He left home at an early age to make his way in the world and joined the United States Army at age 17 and was trained as a Photo Interpreter and became an Army Paratrooper. After leaving Active Military duty, he married Marlene Moeller, the love of his life, in 1959. They were married for 49 years, and Richard was an attentive caregiver in the final years of Marlene’s life until she passed away in 2009. Richard rejoined the Army Reserves in 1969, completed Special Forces and Jumpmaster Training and spent much of his military career as a Reservist attached to Company A, 3rd Battalion, of the 11th Special Forces Group in Tampa, FL. He retired as a Master Sergeant from USSOCOM in 1996 where he had served as a Target Non-Commissioned Officer specializing in the preparation of intelligence briefings, bringing his wealth of Special Forces experience supporting military operations. In his civilian career, working as a Land Surveyor and Engineering Technician, he had the opportunity to work on some of the greatest projects of his generation including the design and construction of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge in New York City, the 1964 New York World’s Fair, Launch Complexes 39A and 39B at Kennedy Space Center, and the development of the Walt Disney World Resort. In retirement, he was active in the retired military community and was instrumental in forming a local chapter of the Special Forces Association and served as the first President of Chapter 74 in Ocala, FL and was also a frequent visitor to the Casselberry Veterans Club where he had many friends. Richard is survived by his son, Brian of Maitland, FL, daughter, Janine (Terry) of Thompson’s Station, TN, and granddaughters, Alise (David), Ariana (Caleb), and Kathleen and two great grandsons. He is also survived by his nephew Anthony Palma, niece Denise Liggett and longtime family friends Marie LeMay and Cathy Alessandri. A Celebration of Richard's Life will be held on Saturday, October 5th, 2024 from 1:00 PM until 2:00 PM and all are invited to gather and share memories at the Casselberry Veterans Club located at 200 Concord Drive, Casselberry, FL (407-260-1404 casselberryvets.org) Committal Services will be held at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, FL located at 6502 S.W. 102nd Avenue, Bushnell, FL 33513 on Friday, October 11th, 2024 at 1:00 PM. All are invited.

Richard Harold Garvey

April 26, 1936 - August 31, 2024