My name is Ronald Bartlinski. I met Richard in 1996 when we both worked for the U. S. Postal Service. He was 13 years my senior, however, I never thought of him as a senior because he was so very young at heart. I believe Richard meant so many different things to a great many different people. For me personally, Richard was a very thoughtful, intelligent, compassionate, generous, and loving human being, just to name a few. In my opinion, if Richard identified with you as a friend, you were not lucky, but blessed. He was one of my oldest BEST. It is hard for me to describe Richard accurately, because he had more facets to his personality than a brilliantly cut diamond. I never knew Richard to compromise his integrity or his honor.
I understand that he was (in his younger years) quite the athlete, musician and was light on his feet like Fred Astaire. Through our experiences together, I did get to appreciate his charm like Dean Martin, and his class like Cary Grant.
I think everyone who knew Richard would all agree that he was an incredibly social person. His life was such an adventure, and to listen to him talk about it was truly entertaining. He had more stories to share with me about his family, his friends, his great many acquaintances, his life journeys and most of all his personal history. I enjoyed them so.
I will miss you very much Richard, but I will see you again.