Welcome to the memorial wall

This is the page where your comments, condolences, and memories can be shared.

 

We thank you for helping to keep his memory alive.

14 thoughts on “In Memorandum”

  1. well Dad. i still cant think about you with out crying. I need you so badly. Its Ironic how my mom kept us apart but you became the the most influential parent even after 26 years. i would not have accomplished anything without the support you gabe me. I love you Dad.

  2. There are many things I am sure I didn’t know about my father, and there are probably some that you don’t, as well. This guy had SO many passions and lived a very interesting life. did you know:

    1. In my lifetime alone, he was a mechanic, a ranch hand, a chef, a Director of IT for a large multi-national company, and owned a video rental store, just to name a few? Additionally, for “side businesses”, he was an Amway dealer for several years, ran a successful “honor-box” style candy vending company, and he and I launched together a complete failure of an online art business.
    2. That he was passionate about poetry, both reading and writing? He was a fan of Robert Frost, and you can read one of his own originals here http://www.nrp.life/Progeny.html
    3. That he was a geek? He taught himself M.S. Access in the 90’s and built relational databases for fun. By early 2000’s, he had sworn off “windoz” as he called it and was a Linux diehard until the end. He even made his own operating system, called Paranoid Linux, though I don’t think it ever actually circulated. He maintained his own website (crypticsubs.com) and had a blog (still live) from 2007-2013, http://conspiracies-n-crypto.blogspot.com. Of course, he didn’t get a cell phone until 2014.
    4. That he probably had more hobbies than anyone you have met? He LOVED black powder shooting and was a hell of a marksman, knew all there was to know about cryptography, had the aforementioned geek passions, and built model submarines that had levels of detail bordering on ridiculous (check out http://www.nrp.life/conb.jpg). He was an author; he wrote a book on relationships and self-published before self-publishing was a “thing”, was 5 chapters/10,000 words into Aboard the Queen, a novel about private submariners rescuing a pirated ship when he passed, and, in 2007 he mentioned in an email lamenting about a hard-drive crash that he lost “notes, outlines and some chapters of 12 books”. He hunted, fished, but didn’t hike unless he was doing one of the two. And of course, he loved to ride, and loved everything about motorcycles.
    5. He had LOTS of certifications, including: Certified Nurse’s Aid, Certified Communicable Disease Interviewer(!), certified in PC maintenance and repair, Microsoft MS Access Certification, and probably 15 different mechanical certifications from 2-stroke engines to exotic carburetors.
    6. He was a pretty bad polyglot? He spoke fantastic English, could hold a (short) conversation in bad Russian, spoke a bit of Spanish, and very small amount of French.

    So maybe you loved him but there was a little something in here that you didn’t know. Or maybe I prompted you to remember something that I might not know, in which case please share!

  3. Another sleepless night… Was telling a friend about you today… could only come up with these words ” he was one bad ass f’in dude”.

    So tonight, as I wait for sleep that might come, i raise a glass to the most BA dude i ever knew. Love ya!

  4. Thank you all so much. It means a lot to me. I’ve struggled with the accident, wishing there was more I could have done for him. It really helps knowing that he has such an amazing family that love him. Again I’m so sorry for your loss. Please let me know if there is anything I can do. You all are in my prayers

    1. Nikki, I just noticed that no one had replied to you, though you have been the topic of a few conversations! I (Rick’s son) just want you to know that I appreciate you being there for him like that so much, and I am sure seeing that was haunting. I hope that knowing that you brought comfort to his family helps you with that. Thank you again.

  5. Always so nervous when I traveled. I would be checkin in with you right about now old man, letting you know I was @ the ‘port. So I guess this time just keep an eye on me in the air, huh? LOVE YA!

  6. Pops…
    The man that has by a long shot been the most influential father figure I have ever had. You had been my shoulder to cry on, my words of wisdom and my guide in the world for many years. I so miss you pops. I think of you always and how much the family benefited from your presence and influence to hold together. I need to see you again someday. I can hope you are somewhere near still guiding me in the right direction with my big life stuff I was never good at, cars, bills, future planning. I would walk a million miles to hug you one more time, just to tell you how much you truly meant to all of us. My favorite memory of you and I was when you took me to dallas on your triumph to pick up my car. You were enjoying the ride and I was holding on tight. I miss you dad, we all do so very much

  7. I’m so sorry for your loss. After reading about Neil I can tell he must have been an amazing man. My family and I came upon his motorcycle accident and we stayed with him to comfort him during this terrible time. He was an amazingly strong and courageous man. I wish there was more we could have done for him and for you all.

    1. Nikki, this truly means the world to us. We are so grateful you sat with him in his time of desperation. I cannot thank you enough. You have been a light in our hearts knowing he wasn’t alone and hurting. So thank you a million times over and I will always keep you in my thoughts and prayers

    2. NIKKI Thank you for being there when none of us could. I highly doubt you will ever understand the impact your actions had. We will be forever and eternally grateful.

    3. Nikki, I want to thank you so much for staying with him
      after the accident. As my baby brother, he has always been so very close. It comforts me that he wasn’t alone during perhaps the only time when was conscious. Chris

  8. I guess I’ll be the first to post. There is no way that I am going to narrow down to one memory, so I will just say this;
    Dad, I remember you for being the father I always wanted to be, the man I wished one day I could emulate, and the best friend in my life. Usually teacher, at times student, always loving and supportive. I know you’re gone, but I haven’t accepted it yet. I hope if you can see me now, you see me trying to honor your core values in how I am handling the situations that arise.. I love you, Dad, and I’ll see you again.

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