Richard Lewis Fitts, 63, of Los Gatos, California died peacefully at home on August 17, 2021. He was born September 22, 1957 at the Alexander Eastman Hospital in Derry, NH. Our mother told us while giving birth, Dr. LaRochelle exclaimed OH MY! There's another one! He had no idea nor did our mother that there were two babies, twins. And there was Dickie. Our little brother.
As a child he was a mischievous rascal. He often defied the rules of school and home and it landed him in trouble. There was more than one parent teacher conference in grade school. Every year he wrote the same book report, John F. Kennedy's PT109. Later, all his school reports were on the internal combustion engine. One time when he was very young, he and a friend painted a neighbor's house with kerosene. He got in big trouble for that one. Another time he took an axe to all of the paint cans stored in the garage.
He was the son of Lewis Richard Fitts and Mildred (Field) Fitts and grew up in Londonderry, NH. He graduated from Pinkerton Academy in Derry, NH in 1975. His favorite thing to do was to skip school and drive around in cousin Donnie Prescott's 1966 souped up red Ford Mustang.
As a child he was adventurous and creative. He and his best childhood friend built forts, rafts to float on ponds, invented spy games, played pond ice hockey, explored the woods, adopted stray animals, and built and launched model rockets during the era of the Space Race.
Later he channeled that energy into creating a successful business, remodeling custom homes in the Los Gatos, CA area. His general contractor business thrived for 28 years up to his passing. He was a proud and meticulous craftsman, and his work was sought after. His mountain home community loved him. He was never idle. Always building. Just like his grandfather and father before him he built his own home in CA for his family. It is a beautiful house filled with unique features. He treated his sisters and his family to his works of craftsmanship. There was a birdhouse that was an exact replica of our grandparent's house. There was also a jewelry box handcrafted from rare and exotic woods from Africa and other places all over the world.
He was a keen amateur historian with special interest in WW2 and visited Pearl Harbor with his family. On another occasion he flew in a restored WW2 bomber and enjoyed the experience immensely. He was interested in family history and with his wife and sisters found and visited ancestor's graves in NH and MA. It always seemed to rain on those days. He often marveled at how green everything was in NH. In New England, he was a Red Sox fan. In California, he became a Giants fan and often went to their ball games.
He loved his rescue dogs, Gus and Suge and later another rescue dog, Rosa. He was a kind and compassionate man. Just like the race to the moon he always strived for something more. When younger, he rode his bike looking not just for fun but for possibility. He explored our 20 acres of woods for adventure and found it. He invented games because he was imaginative. He accomplished things not because they were easy but because they were hard. He was a dreamer and a fighter.
He leaves his loving wife of 24 years, Kathleen (Dias) Fitts, a daughter, Dani Fitts of Seattle, WA with former spouse, Amy (Martone) Fitts of Santa Cruz, CA, two step-children, Brendan O'Neill and Celeste O'Neill ; sisters, Judith (Gary) Eaton of Williston VT, Karen (Christopher) Keenan of Greenland NH, his twin Sherri (Gerry) Mandelbaum of Manchester, NH, nieces, nephews, brothers-in-law, cousins and friends. We will miss him.
A gathering of friends and family will be held on Saturday October 7, 2023 from 10 - 11am in the Peabody Funeral Homes and Crematorium, 290 Mammoth Road, Londonderry. A memorial service will begin at 11:00am in the funeral home with burial to follow in Pleasant View Cemetery, Londonderry next to his mother and father, grandparents, aunts and uncles.