Just Like Dad
This is a picture of Richard, Ray's brother, and Ray's Dad.
Richard looked just like his Dad as a child and was given the nickname Chip for "chip off the old block".
Twins?
Albert (Dad), Richard on the right, and Ray in their Detroit Tigers baseball uniforms. Richard was 10 years old at the time. The family would regularly make the hour long drive from Flint, Michigan down to Detroit to see the Tigers (baseball), Lions (football), Red Wings (ice hockey), and Pistons (basketball) play. Richard and Ray even went to a World Team Tennis event in the 1980 timeframe. We were both into sports a lot. Richard was a very good baseball player and later a good tennis player.
Family House
Here's the house that the family grew up in at Flint, Michigan. Dad was a truck driver and Mom was a stay-at-home Mom after working in the auto factory during World War II assembling airplane gauges.
Favorite Park
Right across the street from our house was a very large park that had baseball diamonds, tennis courts, and a forest. We would play all of the seasonal sports and/or go play in the forest and hide from monsters and criminals and animals. In the winter the city would flood the flat part of the park so that the neighborhood kids could go ice skate. That's where Richard and Ray picked up their ice skating and ice hockey skills.
Backyard Shot 1
Two shots of Mom, Dad, Richard (in red) and Ray (in black) in 1982. Mom and Dad were 40 and 46, respectively, when Richard was born. (Older when Ray was born.)
Backyard Shot 2
Mom and Dad would both come out to the park and hit baseballs with us and they tried their best to be "young parents". Richard was in his distance running phase and Ray was about ready to go out to UCLA in Los Angeles, California.
Hard At Work
Mom and Richard hard at work cleaning up the gravestone of Dad. Circa 1983.
Detroit Grand Prix
Richard brings Ray and Mom some diet Coke at the Detroit Grand Prix in 1984. Ray dragged both Richard and Mom down to Detroit to satisfy Ray's addiction to Formula One.
Chocolate?
Unkown date and circumstances. Richard still looked a lot like his Dad even in later years. I was jealous of Richard's blue eyes.
Calling
Richard helping Margaret and Natalie move in April 1988.
Hanging Out
Richard with Margaret in April 1988. Richard is wearing his late Uncle Don's sweater. (Photo taken by Kenny.)
Out and About
Richard in May 1993.
Happy for Graduates
Richard was always happy to see the students that he influnced and befriended gradaute.
Richard At the Helm
Richard at the helm of a 16mm projector for a film festival that he probably curated.
With Care
Richard with a co-worker's young daughter.
Memorial Setting
We had pictures of Richard next to the mahogany urn of his ashes. I selected the "Die Britte Generation" poster to fly along with Richard's ashes. This poster was in Richard's apartment when I first walked in. It also spoke to me. It represented Richard's ideal of thinking differently than others and outside the norm. This was a big lesson that I learned from him growing up. I now have this poster in my home ready to frame and display.
Memorial Setting
At the memorial we had a number of pictures of Richard and his family as he was growing up. I thought it was important to show the Brown and Providence people where we grew up. We also had digitized home video playing from the time before Richard could walk until approximately high school graduation.
Memorial Setting
We also had items that Richard cherised. There was a sports almanac since Richard was such a sports addict/junkie. And we had a phoot album that Richard had kept through all of these years as himself as a young child.
Memorial Service
Richard's friends, co-workers, faculty members, and students came out in force to the memorial service. They shared their appreciation for Richard along with funny stories and anecdotes about Richard's quirky behavior. His willingness to help people and his quirky behavior is what made Richard Richard.
Richard's Resting Place
Richard was cremated and his ashes were spread at the Swan Point cemetary. When I first went to the cemetary, there were squirrels and wild turkeys running around and beautiful trees. Richard and I would try to train squirrels to come across the street from the park and eat from us. And when I visited Providence, Richard and I would go run/walk along Blackstone blvd which runs alongside the Swan Point cemetary.
Richard's Resting Place
At the marblestone where Richard's name will be engraved, I left the contents of his wallet when he left us. Besides credit cards, Richard was carrying a single dollar bill and a tabletop sports simulation game card for Camille Joseph Wilfred "The Eel" Henry of the 1962-63 New York Rangers ice hockey team. Why was Richard carrying this card? Perhaps he liked the nickname "The Eel"? When I saw the springtime sun coming up over this specific marblestone with a bright sheen, I knew this was where Richard belonged.
Richard's Resting Place
The Swan Point cemetary provides a beautiful resting place for Richard. I'm sure he (and he and I) used to run/walk along the area. There are colorful trees and plenty of greenery. We'll all miss you.