David L. Hovey passed away on November 1, 2024, surrounded by family, a few days before his 89th birthday. “Dave” was born in Lyndonville, Vermont, and was a long-time resident of Reading, MA, where he and his wife, Barbara, raised their three daughters. Upon retirement, they built their dream home in Glen, NH. Dave resided there for 20 years before moving to a retirement community in Exeter, NH, eight years ago.
Dave was an accomplished scientific glassblower at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory for 38 years. He graduated from Medford Vocational High School in 1954, earning a certificate in machining. After several years of courses in chemistry and physics at Harvard, Lowell Technological Institute, and Wentworth Institute of Technology, he became a chemistry technician, which led to his staff position as a scientific glassblower within the Materials Research Group at Lincoln Labs. During this time, he fabricated complex glass apparatus used in developing lasers, transistors, and integrated circuits essential to today’s computers, cell phones, and photovoltaic cells. He received a co-patent for a metal-organic chemical vapor deposition reactor in 1986. He was an active member of the American Scientific Glassblowers Society (ASGS) and had several articles published in their national journal, Fusion. He received “Best Technical Paper Awards” in 1983 and 1991 at the ASGS Annual Symposium. He was one of the founding members of the New England Section of the ASGS and served a critical role in mentoring junior glassblowers and in promoting and preserving the profession of scientific glassblowing.
In addition to his professional accomplishments, Dave was an active volunteer in the Reading YMCA, Mount Washington Valley Habitat for Humanity, American Cancer Society, and several caregiver support groups. He was a deacon and a devoted member of the First Congregational Church of Reading in Reading, MA, and the Jackson Community Church in Jackson, NH. Dave enjoyed serving and helping others and gave his time and heart fully and joyfully. He enjoyed photography, especially taking photos of nature and wildlife during his many trips across the country visiting national parks with his wife. His love of the outdoors, camping, and hiking was shared with many others, and he taught myriads of extended family and friends to ski (downhill and cross-country).
For 63 years he was the devoted husband of the late Barbara (Davis) Hovey. Dave was the loving father of Cindy Bean and husband Don of Fryeburg, Maine; Linda Martin and husband Rick of Reading, MA; and Melissa Hovey and husband George Latour of Colorado. His unconditional love and kindness were extended to 7 grandchildren (Jon, Jessica, Jeff, Jen, David, Megan, and Ian) and five great-grandchildren (Brayden, Cody, Haley, Aiden, and Tyler). He is also survived by several cousins, nieces, nephews, and many dear friends whom he cared for deeply. He was predeceased by his parents, Connie and Reginald, two brothers, John and Karl, and his sister, Elizabeth. He was known to all as the most sincere, kind, patient, and genuinely loving person, who gave the best hugs! To quote one of his nephews: “he was the epitome of kindness and empathy and was the gold standard for gentlemen.”
A celebration of Dave’s life will be held at a later time. In lieu of flowers, donations in Dave’s memory may be sent to MWV Habitat for Humanity, 2 Common Court, North Conway, NH 03860 or at https://mwv-habitat.org/donations/ways-to-donate/. Dave’s family would be grateful for any notes of remembrance or condolence to be left on his obituary page at https://www.stockbridgefh.com/ care of Stockbridge Funeral Home, Exeter, NH.
