Richard Lloyd MacGregor

Richard Lloyd MacGregor, born October 3, 1944 was welcomed into Heaven to celebrate his 76th birthday with Jesus face to face on October 3, 2020.

Richard was born in Orange, NJ on October 3, 1944. He graduated from Lakewood High School in 1962 and decided to pursue a career in mechanical engineering. He began his journey at New Jersey Institute of Technology (formerly Newark College of Engineering) and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in 1966 and a Master’s Degree in 1968. From there, he had a success full career designing things from circuit boards to working on fiber optic technology at companies like Bendix, Litton, Datascope, AT&T and two startup companies before retiring in 2007. Since retiring, he has enjoyed hobbies like gardening, hiking, serving the community and his church.

A gentle, kind man, who loved and trusted God throughout his life, Richard served others humbly, generously, and graciously, and always believed the best of people. Richard’s Christian faith was central to his life. He faithfully served Helen First Baptist for the past 7 years and had a special love for his church family and for the community. He was a deacon, a team lead for the security team, served with the Bread of Life community food ministry, and sang in the church choir as a tenor. Outside of church, he faithfully served as a “woodchucker”, which is a group of men who gather to cut and chop would that keeps needy people warm in the winter by providing cut wood for fireplaces/stoves.

Prior to moving to Helen, he lived in Brick, NJ, he had been a deacon and a faithful member of the choir at Trinity Bible church in Brick, NJ. Before that, they lived in Sparta, NJ, and he served as the treasurer of Crossroads Assembly of God in Hamburg NJ for several years.  Apart from church, he had his own budget ministry, as he enjoyed accounting and enjoyed helping young families and single moms to establish healthy spending patterns so that they could get back on their feet and start over financially.

He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Susan (nee Parsons); his daughter Sharon, of Wharton, NJ, and his sister, Marsha MacGregor of Ocala, FL. He is pre-deceased by his parents, Lloyd and Dorothy (nee Yates) MacGregor.

A memorial service to celebrate his life will be held on a date yet to be determined at Helen First Baptist Church in Helen, Georgia by Pastor Jim Holmes. In lieu of flowers, donations can be given to Helen First Baptist (https://helenfbc.com/), or the Cleveland Care Center, Cleveland, GA (http://www.clevelandcarecenter.com/).

As Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 4:13, “We grieve, but not as those without hope…”  Yes, we grieve, but deeper than that is hope, and it is strong, like love, as strong as death.