J. Richard Warfel

J. Richard Warfel, 98, of Lancaster, PA passed away on Tuesday, January 17, 2018 at his residence in Woodcrest Villa. Born in Lancaster July 22, 1918, he was the son of David S. and Clara May Haverstick Warfel. He had one sister, Kathryn (Warfel) Bender who passed away in 1967. He graduated from Manheim Township High School and one year of a preparatory school, The Hill School, in Pottstown, PA. He went on to study civil engineering at Princeton and graduated in 1941. After university, he worked for Glenn Martin Aircraft in Baltimore 1942 and as WWII broke out he shifted to Sperry Gyroscope as field engineer in South Africa to service allied aircraft 1943-1945; He then served as a Special Agent (Central Intelligence Corps) in the U.S. Air Force in Japan from 1946-1947. After the military, he returned to South Africa to marry his war time sweetheart Doreen, M. Dickson (1918-2016). In 1947 they moved back to Lancaster, PA where he used his civil engineering to work for his father at D.S. Warfel General Contractors. In 1952 he (as Secretary-Treasurer) and his partner Melvin Peters took over the company renamed it D.S. Warfel Associates, in 1971 it was renamed again as Warfel Construction Company and he served as Executive V.P. and Treasurer till he and Mr. Peter sold the company in 1980. In 2011 Warfel Construction celebrated its 100th anniversary. Richard held various executive or board positions at: Prince Contract Co., Fildor Realty, L.B. Herr & Co, Wheatland Realty Co., Garden Spot Realty Co. and Motor Co., School District of Lancaster, Grace E.C. Church, Lancaster Country Club, Kiwanis, Lancaster Auto Club, E.C.C. Retirement Village, St. Joseph Hospital, Lancaster YMCA, Society of Professional Engineers, and Lancaster Chamber of Commerce. He was a member of: Zembo Shrine, Hamilton Club, Hershey Country Club, Turtle Creek Country Club, the veterans Air Force Association. After his retirement, he and Doreen enjoyed golf, travel and photography. Before she passed away in January 2016 they had been married for 68 years. Richard is survived by his son Derrick Warfel who works in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles and his relatives from the Bender, Griffiths, and Haverstick family members in the U.S. and Canada, and his wife’s relatives (Dickson and Thompson) in South Africa and Australia. He attributes his many blessings to the Christian faith he learned from his father and Grace E. C. Church. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend Richard’s Funeral Service at The Groffs Family Funeral & Cremation Services, Inc. , 528 W. Orange St,(corner of Pine & W. Orange Sts.), Lancaster, PA 17603 on Saturday, January 21, 2017 at 10:00AM. The family will receive friends on Saturday from 9:30AM until the time of the service. Afterwards a brief reception with refreshments will be held for funeral attendees or friends in the Hummingbird Dining Room at Woodcrest Villa, 2001 Harrisburg Pike, Lancaster. Burial will be private. Flowers may be sent to The Groffs or Memorial contributions in Richard’s name may be made to the Mennonite Home Communities – Benevolence Fund, 1520 Harrisburg Pike, Lancaster, PA 17601. Photo by Cousin, Meg McKinney.

J. Richard Warfel

January 17, 2017