Born in Philadelphia, he was the son of Harry and Jean McLean Gaffney.

Dick met his wife, Susan (Karutis) Gaffney, in a graduate philosophy seminar in 1964. They were married for 56 years. They’d lived in Niskayuna and Keene Valley and spent 11 years in New York City. They moved to The Woodlands in Lebanon in January, to be near family.

Dick was a graduate of St. Joseph’s College in Philadelphia, held a master’s degree from Villanova University and a PhD from Boston College. He taught philosophy and logic at Villanova, Boston College, and for the last 23 years of his academic career at Siena College in Loudonville, New York.

Before he taught at Siena, he spent four years in the business world, at the Pepsi Cola Schenectady Bottling Corp. That experience gave him new insights as he resumed teaching philosophy. His philosophical interests were logic and the history of logic, Aristotle, and Ludwig Wittgenstein.

In his later years he was a founding member of the Hudson-Adirondack Daylily Society, grew beautiful day lilies and hosta, and wrote several (unpublished) mystery novels and stories. He never lost his curiosity about people or his zest for life. He was a runner, and an Adirondack 46er (No. 4548), finishing on Skylight as he turned 65 with the help of his son and his good friend Graham Holmes. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease four-and-a-half years ago but still walked in Central Park regularly and loved his Dance for PD class in New York.

Survivors include his wife, son Nicholas (Emma Wunsch) and granddaughters, Georgia and Dahlia, all of Lebanon, New Hampshire; daughter Maria of Hovland, Minnesota; brother Michael K. Gaffney (Janet) and sister-in-law Nancy Gaffney, of Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania; cousins; and many nieces, nephews and friends.

A memorial Mass will be celebrated at noon Saturday March 4, at Our Lady of the Angels Chapel at Siena College. Memorial donations may be made to Siena College or to Families First in Essex County, Elizabethtown.

To leave a message of remembrance or condolence, visit the online guestbook at www.rickerfuneralhome.com.