Richard L. DeWorken Obituary (1951 - 2023)

Steve Hartman '67 said:

Richard and I were childhood friends. I lived on the first block of Woodrow Ave by Wetcliff Drive, and Richard lived at the corner of Woodrow and Delaware. I remember back in 1964! Richard and I were watching the Vikings 49er game. Jim Marshall picked up a 49er fumble and ran the wrong way, all the way to the end zone! 2 POINTS! Yup! For the Niners! Oh man did we laugh! Unbelievable! LOL!
Anyway, we lost touch when I moved to the eastside. In 1967, I enlisted in the Navy. A couple of years later Richard also entered the service. I think Army. He ended up being a Long Range Reconnaissance Ranger, but made it home alive. The war, however, really damaged Richard. It was heartbreaking because he was obviously mentally wounded PTSD, but because his missions were so classified, he couldn't get relief or compensation form the VA.
Then, in the 1990's I became a radio talk show host for KSCO Radio AM-1080. Richard was a consistent caller to my programs, and it was kind of fun reconnecting after so many decades. He was one-of-a-kind and I miss him! R.I.P. old friend!

Dan Lamb '70 said:

I was sad to learn that Rick had passed. I realize dying is not such an unexpected outcome for someone our age. I recall when he and I were cub scouts at a meeting held one evening at the De Laveaga Park Clubhouse. At the closing of the meeting, someone from among the adult leadership shared a closing prayer. During the prayer, Rick and I, briefly, unexpectedly, out-of-the-blue began to laugh; we couldn’t hold it back. I don’t know why. Boy did I hear it from my mom (a devout Catholic) when we arrived home.

Rick and I surfed a lot at Cowell Beach. I felt safe around him. He was twice my size, and he was a skilled wrestler as well. As a surfer in the 1960’s, one needed to be careful to adhere to the “rules” that governed the behavior at the surfing spots. Sometimes He and I would hit Cowell’s around 5:30am just to avoid the madness. Rick’s dad and mom were divorced. Rick lived with his mother, and she was just amazing. I recalled the day that his dad came to his house and handed him a new surfboard. I felt so happy for him. I grew up having a father in the home; he didn’t. He allowed me to use his new board many times. I had never had a new board during this time in my life. I learned to surf on popouts – inexpensive boards I could afford with my paper route earnings.

Rick later got married to his girlfriend and he began managing one of his dad’s furniture stores. I began to lose my connection to Rick about this time. I wanted to earn a college degree and that meant moving away from home. I would eventually learn that his marriage had ended, and his business had suffered. I had later wondered what had happened to him, what he had become as an aging adult male – like me.