These stories! Wow… I’ve only known him just about 7 years or so, through my wife’s best friend, Tracy. They were such a wonderful yin & yang together. I considered him an instant friend/mentor. Each one of these stories has only enriched who I knew him to be, tenfold. I knew Richard to be a generous giver. He just had such an abundance of experience, and would gladly share it when he saw it would be useful. When he and Tracy would be out and about he would go out of his way to not tell people what he did, he’d just rather avoid it. I liked that, I’m a musician and I’m used to blowhards faking it until they make it. He was an absolute breath of fresh air to be around. He was an instant Uncle to my 2 kids, he re-wired my gosh darn electronic meat thermometer when I was about to throw it out, he helped me insulate the attic of our shared investment property— all while answering calls and emails from Steven Tyler, who he was working for at the time. I learned something new with every interaction we had... He could tell you to climb Everest, and do it in such a matter of fact way that you’d be like “Okay, be right back!” My favorite light-hearted story is when Tracy, my wife and I were out to dinner with him at some WAY too expensive place, the waiter came by and said “And we have a very nice risotto featuring truffles, it’s [$$WAY TOO MUCH $$] per plate—” I accidentally interrupt the waiter with my nervous laughter, I mean just imagine someone paying that much for—Richard interrupts: “Ah yes, all four of us will certainly be having THAT, thank you kind sir!” Seeing how many lives he affected is making this all too real, when it was just my little circle I was holding onto hope that maybe we were misinformed, that he wasn’t really gone. Now I must accept it, he sure do deserve some peaceful rest. Selfishly, we’ll miss him terribly, but carry these lessons with us each day. I’ll be eternally praying for your two boys as they make their way in this world. I have no doubt that you’ve given them all the tools they need. Thank you, Richard!