Everyone has a story. Some are long. Some are short. Some are epic and many are just ordinary. To Richard’s family and friends, his short time with us was anything but ordinary.
Every parent believes that their children are head and shoulders above everyone else and rightfully so; we were no exception when it came to our own opinions of Richard. However, it is important that you get a sense of who Richard was, what he wanted to be and realize how he was a smart, fun, wonderful and a loving person.
Anyone would have been proud to call him son, friend, brother, cousin or teammate before all of this happened.
There are plenty of articles, books and TV shows that document what happened to Richard when he was improperly diagnosed for ADHD and given a prescription for Adderall that he would eventually become addicted to and abuse.
We encourage you to follow the links on this website to read and learn from what Richard experienced during that time. They’ll tell you what happened to Richard when the medical system failed him, but we will tell you here about the person we knew and loved. The person that affected us immensely enough to create a foundation in his honor. The person that impacted us to help others and believe that he has the ability to change and save lives even though he is no longer here physically.
Children usually settle into a certain niche, then stay with in that group of friends whether that group is athletes, theater, band or the “smart kids”. Not Richard. Even though his passion was baseball, he seemed to be able to make friends easily across a wide variety of groups and having that good of a mixture of friends, he was able to appreciate what each individual needed to do to be successful in their area interest.
School seemed to come easy for Richard. He excelled in academics from an early age. He made Honor Roll every grading period from elementary school through High School, graduating with honors in 2004 from First Colonial High School in Virginia Beach. Teachers early on would tell us that Richard would help other students with their work if they were having trouble. Even from an early age that is the type of person he was; always willing to help someone else.
Baseball!! That was Richard’s passion. He played many sports growing up including soccer, basketball, football and volleyball but baseball dominated over all the others. He even ran track and participated on the wrestling team. Richard loved baseball and worked extremely hard to improve his skills. The other sports he did were things to stay active and help him get in better physical condition when it wasn’t baseball season. Richard was dedicated to baseball and set a goal for himself, to be able to play in college, something that is very difficult to accomplish.
By the time he was in high school, Richard focused on his academics and baseball to make achieve his dreams of playing in college. When it came time to go to college Richard had numerous opportunities based on academics alone and four to five offers to play baseball. Weighing all of his options Richard chose to attend Greensboro College in North Carolina on a Presidential Scholarship; a full academic scholarship, and also accepted an offer to join the baseball team.
Richard loved his time at Greensboro. He had a lot of friends, was Sophomore Class President and had his brotherhood of friends on the baseball team. He thrived during his time there and we saw a young boy go away to school and become a young man, who was responsible and goal oriented. It was during his junior year that Richard had decided he wanted to go to Medical School and become a Doctor. He was happy and everyone was so proud of him, he had unlimited potential and it was out there for him to grasp.
Our family has always been close and we made many trips to Greensboro to see him and to watch him play baseball. Richard, like most college students away from home, enjoyed our frequent visits and he especially liked spending time with his sister Ryan, showing her around his school and giving her a view of what college life was like. It was a special bonding time for them.
Richard graduated in 2008 from Greensboro College as a George Center for Honors Studies Graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree. Richard majored in Biology with a minor in Chemistry and still had his sights set on going to medical school and started studying for the MCATS.
Most of Richard’s life was spent attaining his academic and athletic goals but there was another side of him that he had an equal passion for. He loved the outdoors and spending time with family and friends going on ski and snowboarding trips. He also took up camping and hiking that he enjoyed by himself or with his friends.
While Richard’s accomplishments have been achieved by many others, to us, his family and friends, his life was extraordinary. Telling his whole story through his Foundation is important. Richard has the ability to change the world even though he is no longer with us physically.
