Sergeant First Class (SFC) Hector O Rivera, age 69, of Tiverton, passed away at home on Saturday, April 20, 2024. He was a decorated veteran of the US Navy and the Massachusetts Army National Guard, receiving many awards and medals. The King of Tinkering, he was an avid collector of anything and everything, a lover of karaoke, a good friend to all, and was always willing to lend a hand.

Born on August 16, 1954 on a Navy base in Okinawa, Japan, he was the son of the late Filiberto and Brigida Rivera. He was preceded in death by his beautiful wife, Nydia E. Rivera.

Hector was wonderfully devoted to his 3 children: Hector Jr, Emily (Thomas), and Christian (Melissa). A loving grandfather to 2 grandsons whom he adored so much: Owen and Julian. He also leaves behind 3 siblings: Filiberto (Paulette), Migdalia (Will), and Nilda along with many loved nieces and nephews. His beloved cat, Minion will miss him as well.

Hector spent the majority of his childhood years growing up in Brooklyn, NY with his parents and siblings. He helped run his family owned bodega. He enlisted in the United States Navy in the late 70's where he was extensively trained in computer programming. He spent many years overseas and eventually found himself based in Puerto Rico. It was here that he met the love of his life, Nydia. They were soon married and moved to the US to start a their life together, settling in Rhode Island. He left the Navy in 1985 to be present with his family.

Hector was a well known man in town, owning many businesses in which he repaired electronics (a skill he learned in the Navy), rented movies, offered photo developing, and he even owned a gift shop in which you could buy balloons and trading cards. He was a jack of all trades and could literally fix anything. He would give the shirt off his back to be able to help anyone in need. He was involved with many town activities and always did his best to ensure the safety of not only his own children, but the children of the town of Tiverton. One of his greatest passions in life was creating a safe space for local teens to be able to hang out.  This is where his idea of the infamous 'Game Room' came to be in the early 90's. He took pride in this space - filled it with pool tables, video games, a DJ booth, and vending machines for snack. Soon, the Game Room became the place to be on Friday and Saturday nights and this filled his heart in so many ways.

Shortly after September 11th, Hector reenlisted into the Massachusetts Army National Guard, on 9/27/2001 to be exact, in which he served until his retirement in 2016. During this time, he continued his duties as a Computer Programmer as well as performing duties as a Field Artillery Firefinder Radar operator and a Tactical Automated Fire Control Systems Specialist. He was deployed to Iraq in 2004, serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He loved this country and similar to his desire to keep his children and family safe, he felt compelled to do the same for the USA.

He will be missed by so many. His family, his friends, his karaoke crew, and by his sweet kitty, Minion.

**My name is Emily, Hector's daughter. If you are still reading to this point, thank you. Our father was a loving and generous man. He was well traveled, loved to ride his Harley, and had a passion for antiques and old cars amongst so many other things. He had a love for so much in this world and I felt the need to fully paint the picture of how great he truly was. Dad, we love you and will miss you so much! We know you'll find mom up there and will be looking down on us.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations in memory of Hector to either of the following charities: Pups for Patriots or to Homes for our Troops.

Pups For Patriots: https://www.americanhumane.org/?form=FUNCKEVFLBL
Pups For Patriots is a program that rescues, trains and pairs dogs with veterans coping with the invisible wounds of war. Select "dedicate this donation" and input the name 'Hector Rivera'.  Additionally, anyone who is uncomfortable with online donations can simply call or mail a check to the address below, making sure to mention or place "In Memory Of NAME " on the memo section of the check.

Homes for our Troops: https://support.hfotusa.org/site/Donation2?1640.donation=form1&df_id=1640&set.SingleDesignee=1001
Homes for our Troops is a program that helps support the building of specially adapted custom homes for severely injured post-9/11 Veterans with a one-time gift.

Visitation Monday, April 29th from 4 to 7pm at the the Pocasset Memorial Funeral Home.  His Funeral will be held Tuesday, April 30th with a procession to the Massachusetts National Cemetery at 9am.