In Loving Memory
After a very long battle with cancer, Rich passed away peacefully in his sleep; he was taken to the Lord with his two babies (dogs) lying beside him watching over him. We are grateful for his peaceful passing in the night and we know that he would not have allowed the cancer to take him any other way. We are thankful that he is no longer in pain, and we know that he went home to be with the Lord. We ask that you remember with us his wonderful and impacting life here on earth. We are grateful that God gave him to us and used him to touch so many lives.
Rich was born in Portland, Oregon. He moved to California at a young age and lived a majority of his life in Southern California. As a young boy, he was an active member of the Seventh Day Adventist church and sang in the choir. He was the oldest of four children, and spent his younger years pining to be a role model for his siblings. In high school, he was very active in sports; enjoyed basketball and baseball; and aided his Hoover High School basketball team in making it to the CIF all city finals basketball tournament. After graduating, Rich followed his love for sports by playing baseball in the minor leagues for his favorite team, the Angels. Although Rich loved sports, he also wanted a family; he decided to leave his baseball career in order to start a family. Rich was married at the age of 26. Although his first marriage did not last, it resulted in a daughter whom Richard loved and lived his whole life for. Rich not only raised his daughter, but his daughter also raised him. They both grew together and maintained a strong bond throughout the years. Rich worked for Warner Brother Records for 24 years and also secured a part-time job refereeing/umpiring for the Burbank Sports Center leagues. At Warner, he was a one man (one dept.) print shop for the entire company running an average of 320,000 to 350,000 copies per week. After spending many years working hard for Warner Brothers, raising his daughter alone, and also searching for love, Rich met the other love of his life, Elizabeth (Liz), through his Bowling league. Rich and Liz were married on August 31, 1997. Rich went from being a single father of one, to a happily married father of 8. These years were to be the best of his life. He reached his dream of a happy marriage, a large family, and a rewarding job. After being laid off from Warner, much to his dismay for he loved his job, he moved to Dayton, NV. While in Nevada, he worked for North Sails in Minden making sails for some of the America's Cup sail boats. He was a driver for Airborne allowing him to spend his days driving through Tahoe, which he loved. His final job was working for Server Technology. Although the cancer had taken so much from him, he refused to give up his ability to work hard for his income. He battled the cancer, and worked hard for Server Technology until the cancer took over and he could no longer work. He was so very proud when his daughter graduated college in 2011. She became a school teacher after serving in the Navy and credits all of her successes to the fact that she had such a wonderful father. Rich will always be remembered by his passions. He had many passions in life including history, camping, boating, nature, golf, darts, music, and all sports in general. He was very passionate about raising his children and loved his wife a great deal. He enjoyed traveling very much and could tell you the history of any place he happened to venture to.
Although we will miss him dearly, we know he is at peace with his family in heaven. He was preceded in death by his mother Marie; his brother David; his brother-in-law Bobby; his father-in-law Pat; his very close friends Jeff and Lew. He is survived by his wife of 15 years, Liz; his Dad, Ronald; mother-in-law, Peggy; sisters Jerolynn and Debbie; sisters-in-law Sue and Linda; and his 8 children, 20 grandchildren, numerous nieces and nephews as well as great nieces and nephews, all of whom he loved and adored; listed as follows: His daughter Christy, husband Lewis, Lisa, Isaac, David-Richard (named after him and his brother David), Cody, and Ashlyn. His step-children and grandchildren: Jennifer, Cory, Alina, Jax, Julia and Cory Jr. on the way; Angie, Austin; David, David III (Bubba) and Dezstany (Bugs); Karen, Tony, Kaylee, Jamie, and Alicia; Jimmy, Logan; Donna, Tony, Christopher, Matthew, and Alexis; Tom, Hoa, Tiffany and Briana. Several nieces and nephews: Jessica and her family, Kyle, Phillip, Stephen and his family, Diana and her family, Mandy and her family, Cortni, Beth and her family, and Jeffery.
The world has lost the greatest father, husband, grandpa, brother, uncle, and friend that anyone could possibly ever know. Please God watch over him until we meet again..... God Bless!
Memorial will be on Friday, June 29, 9:00 AM, boats launching at Cave Rock, South Lake Tahoe and picking up guests at Round Hill Pines. A Celebration of Life party will follow at the house in Dayton. Contact Liz (Eder_Elizabeth@yahoo.com) for further information.
