My Dad's Chair

Everyone felt comfortable around my dad. To know my dad was to love him, but to be in his office was to be completely at ease.  Despite the scattered maps, papers and constant Clint Eastwood movies playing on his little TV, you'd always find your way to his recliner chair and let him entertain you for hours.  Sometimes you'd just feel compelled to stay for a few days.  Nothing made my dad happier than a willing ear...except maybe his camera.

The Simple Things

My dad was able to find joy in everything.  He could watch a leaf tumbling down the street in a light breeze and he'd call you over to enjoy it too.  It was infectious, you couldn't help but delight in the small things he loved.


Family friend Yolanda Huerta wrote this message to my mom:


Richard was a true blessing and a great man of God.  One day when he visited us in Phoenix, he took me on a treasure hunt, I had no idea where he was taking me, but we had so much fun and when we found the treasure, Richard jumped off the ground and we were shouting and yelling with joy and happiness that we had found his treasure.  It took us about one hour to find it and when we found it, he put in a small mickey mouse toy . I thought, "wow, what a neat hobby to have." I had an amazing time with Richard always, it was never a dull moment with him, He will be greatly missed, and I LOVED him so much, God Bless Him.

A Time of Joy

I have been overwhelmed with how my dad has touched people's lives.  Meetings that were seemingly trivial to me, I now realize, are forever engraved in people's minds.  After speaking to my best friend Veronica, I became aware of my dad's big personality.  I met Veronica when we were both undergrads at UC, Santa Cruz.  I would often talk about my dad and what a support he was to me.  She would laugh at the stories I'd tell her about him and she couldn't wait to meet him.


After we'd graduated, Veronica finally got that chance when she came to Santa Barbara to stay with me.  At that time she was planning her wedding and was having trouble finalizing things.  My dad insisted he had all of the answers to her wedding woes.  For every problem Veronica presented, my dad would take a minute to ponder before flicking his pointer finger in the air and announcing "I got it!"  Veronica didn't use any of his ideas but we got a good laugh out of his efforts!


Later in the week, Veronica decided we needed to rent Surrey bikes down at East Beach and cruise around like real tourists.  We'd gone far off of the path and ended up doing donuts at the zoo near Dwight Murphy Field.  It wasn't long before we saw a big, red truck pulling up and we instantly knew who it was.  My dad had been cruising around the beach with Cowboy.  He laughed at us and told us to get back on the path and then gave us his bag of candy orange slices.  My dad always knew how to make me feel like a kid.

Service Information

We all got together today to meet with Ruben Reyes at his office to make arrangements for the memorial service.  Ruben has been invaluable to our family in the past and once again he came through for us.  We know that this will be a healing experience for everyone.


The service will be on Monday, June 6 at noon at:


Living Faith Center
4597 Hollister Ave.
Santa Barbara, CA 93110


Reception to follow.  We hope that everyone that wants to attend will be able to.  Feel free to pass the word.