Richard C. Honeycutt Educational Fund

It is with great sadness and profound love that we announce the passing of Richard C. Honeycutt —loving husband, devoted father, attentive grandfather, brilliant scientist, and friend to all whose lives he touched — on November 14, 2020.  Richard lived a full and balanced life of family, love, education, work, travel, sports and laughter.  Richard was an extremely hard worker known for his keen intellect, passion for learning and meticulous work ethic. His research and risk assessment of chemicals on the public and the environment was the focal point of his career.

 Most importantly Richard was a really good  man, incredibly caring, generous, loyal and forgiving.  Richard’s joy of life, childlike curiosity, infectious laugh and corny sense of humor made for the perfect paradox to the serious scientist. To his many colleagues and contemporaries in the field of agrochemical science he was Dr. Richard  C. Honeycutt, Ph.D. To us he was Papa Richie.  We will love and miss him, but will never forget the impact he had on all of our lives.  We are eternally grateful.

To celebrate Richard’s life and to honor his passion for science, research, and learning, his family and friends have set up this Go Fund Me page.  In lieu of flowers the family ask that you donate to the Richard C. Honeycutt Educational Fund.  This funds’ mission is to raise money for and with all proceeds going directly to an approved college or university to ensure that under-represented students in need may carry on their educational legacies in Science. 

 

Richard C. Honeycutt, Ph.D.

Richard was born in Newport News, Virginia and attended Anderson College in Anderson, Indiana where he received a B.A. in Chemistry in 1967.  He attended Purdue University from 1967-1971 as a NIH fellow and received a Ph.D. in Biochemistry in 1971 where he was instrumental in the discovery of a key aspect of photosynthesis. From here he went on to become a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Smithsonian Institution’s Radiation Biology Laboratory from 1971-1973. In 1973, he joined Rohm and Haas Company in Philadelphia, PA as a senior Chemist and worked as a bench chemist in pesticide metabolism and residue analysis.

In 1976, Richard joined Ciba Geigy Corporation in Greensboro, NC as a Senior Metabolism Chemist working on the identification and elucidation of metabolic pathways of pesticides in plants, animals and soil.  In 1980 he became Senior Environmental Scientist at Ciba-Geigy Corporation doing research in pesticide environmental fate and ecotoxicology.

In 1990, Richard founded H.E.R.A.C., Inc. (Hazard Evaluation and Regulatory Affairs Company) in Greensboro, NC, a research and consulting company performing field research in pesticide exposure assessment to man and the environment. He was President of H.E.R.A.C., Inc. which specialized in exposure assessment for farm workers as well as assessment of the public’s exposure to  pesticide residues infood and water. 

Richard published widely in the field of pesticide metabolism, worker exposure, and environmental impacts of pesticides. His career garnered over 60 published works, including seven books which he edited, and over 150 unpublished reports in this field. He has been a member of the American Chemical Society since 1973.  He was past Chair of the Central North Carolina Sections of ACS, past Chair of the Agrochemical Division of the ACS and was awarded the Agrochemical Division Fellow award.   He has been past Councilor and Alternate Councilor of the Central North Carolina Section of the ACS.

Visitation is scheduled for Tuesday, November 17, 2020  from 6:00 - 7:30 pm and the Funeral for Wednesday, November 18th  at 2:00 pm  at Hanes Lineberry Funeral Home, 6000 W. Gate City Blvd. , Greensboro, NC