I shared hundreds of hours with Rick on football fields and in wrestling rooms. We were teammates during games and adversaries during practice. Rick had a joyful approach to competition -that helped carry me on bad days and he was very good at what he did. He was much stronger than me even though he weighed less and I could never beat him during wrestling practice. He could tell a funny story about some monster who pitched him around but never bragged when he was doing the pitching, which was most of the time. People like Rick are the reason players become teammates and forge bonds. on the field and off. I not only have mourned his passing over the years, but mourned for the people he left behind who were deprived of him. It was everyone's loss.
Rick and I had a date, I think it was the early summer
after our graduation. We went to one of those dinner/theatre things in the nearby "country". I was so surprised when he asked me 'cause I hadn't been aware of the the fact that he even knew I existed.
It was a beautiful summer's night, I had fancied him from afar, and couldn't believe the object of my fancy had actually asked me out. After the show we went to a place close to Shaker Day Camp (Hudson, Ohio) which was nearby, and very private, and I thought "something" would happen"...being 18 and never been kissed...at least properly...and he was " so gorgeous"...and didn't know what would happen...maybe a "kiss" which was unusual...not like my father's kiss..."something else"...but nothing DID happen...apart from our talking for hours...and then he drove me home, and I never heard from him again.
When I heard of his suicide, I was incredulous and so really upset...guilty, even. There was nothing in his demeanor or our conversation which indicated that he was in such anxious turmoil. It has haunted me ever since.
He was a beautiful boy, a lovely young man...who knew?
How little we know of each other...ourselves are kept so hidden...even in the most obvious of us...even in the most "here" of us.
His memory is etched forever in my mind. Was there something I could have said or done? No way, Jose! Whatever was going on in his mind, this very attractive and really sweet boy, or so he seemed...it was not in my power to change a single goddamned thing. The die was cast! But still I think...."could I have made a difference?" Could I have opened up in a way which could have opened him up?
I've saved the lives of two people: one at a swimming pool in Central London...the other with the Heimlich ( spelling) maneuver. It's a nice feeling! Do they owe me their lives...I think not...I owe them.
Life continues and I hope I will be up to rescuing others! Not that this is my main object in life...it just happens, and I'm there...ready and willing...to a point!
Rock Cooper's death will always be not only a conundrum, but also a great sadness...he had much to give...he should have given life a chance...not that I don't somewhat understand his "giving up"...were it not for my darling daughter, Rachel...in the past few years, I, too, would have wondered about "signing off"...but the "life force" is pretty strong in all of us...we're programmed by " the selfish gene".
I think I should shut up now! Sometimes, most times, I just go on and on and on...without somebody to shut me up! That is what happens when you live alone with two incredibly affectionate cats. Not that I don't have friends...but they rarely confront me...tell me I'm talking a load of "balls"....although, in truth, sometimes that happens....Thank God for "true" friends.
To all of you whom I've loved...friends, acquaintances, may this 50th reunion be absolutely delicious in every possible way.
There is still a chance I can "see" you all as well as give you a one minute resume of the past 50 years ..again, Ha Ha! This response regarding Rick Cooper has turned out to be a general message to you all....if it doesn't work that way, my fault...but I don't apologise...have a problem with apologising....have to really MEAN IT!
Rick, Sharon Anderson, Larry Kater! Scott Fields, Scott Cockrell. Etc, etc. All of them meant something to some of us...and we are there to remember them...we are their living eternity....until we shuffle off this mortal coil...and then what? Nothing. I think not. Each one of them has made a difference...some more than others...and we, the human race keeps fiddling along...waiting for an answer. But the answer is so clear and obvious...life is NOW! Enjoy and embrace it, my friends and not my friends!
Just in case you all think I've taken leave of my senses, you can check me out at PRich71686@aol.com...when I get your message! within a reasonable time I'll reply.
I promise I haven't gone " all funny",...although, re-reading this it does seems so...bit I'm still the same Patty Richards you all knew...promise!
Still trying to entertain...but now realising this is for MY BENEFIT! Who cares, I certainly love it!
Thanks Burt and Patty.Rick was everything you said he was; strong,handsome, friendly and an intense competitor on the football field.I remember his wearing a sweatshirt that he had written on it a large KC.My recollection is that it was in honor of his home town of Kansas City.(Please correct me if this is wrong) Harry Garber came to visit me in Boulder while I was attending the U of Colorado and he told me about Rick.What a shame, what a loss!! The world could have used his goodness over these last 50 years.RIP. Patty,I don't think we knew each other at Shaker and I wish we had, because I love your entries.---Richard Krohn
I only briefly knew Rick, But Cooper and Corlett . . . we sat next to each other several times. I thought quite highly of Rick and I even worked at Brown-Forward for one summer and found out at work. I still can't accept a suicide. On April 23, 2010 my heart stopped beating and I quit breathing. I fought pretty hard to come back to life, and believe that life is fleeting, but precious.
My senior year as a Shaker majorette I had a big crush on Rick. He the big football player, me the adoring, maybe halftime girlfriend who tagged around him whenever I could.. We sometimes hung around together, but we were never really "declared" as couple! I was crazy about him.
When I went off to college, he left for Ohio Notrthern and I to OU. Then a few years later I heard about his shocking death. So many of my classmates have passed away tragically early.
"I shared hundreds of hours with Rick on football fields and in wrestling rooms. We were teammates during games and adversaries during practice. Rick had a joyful approach to competition -that helped carry me on bad days and he was very good at what he did." Burt Weiss
John Welch, III
1968 tragically took his own life.
Burt Weiss
I shared hundreds of hours with Rick on football fields and in wrestling rooms. We were teammates during games and adversaries during practice. Rick had a joyful approach to competition -that helped carry me on bad days and he was very good at what he did. He was much stronger than me even though he weighed less and I could never beat him during wrestling practice. He could tell a funny story about some monster who pitched him around but never bragged when he was doing the pitching, which was most of the time. People like Rick are the reason players become teammates and forge bonds. on the field and off. I not only have mourned his passing over the years, but mourned for the people he left behind who were deprived of him. It was everyone's loss.
Joseph G Blake
Thanks for such a beautiful and wise memory of Rick.
Patricia Ann Richards (Armstrong)
Rick and I had a date, I think it was the early summer
after our graduation. We went to one of those dinner/theatre things in the nearby "country". I was so surprised when he asked me 'cause I hadn't been aware of the the fact that he even knew I existed.
It was a beautiful summer's night, I had fancied him from afar, and couldn't believe the object of my fancy had actually asked me out. After the show we went to a place close to Shaker Day Camp (Hudson, Ohio) which was nearby, and very private, and I thought "something" would happen"...being 18 and never been kissed...at least properly...and he was " so gorgeous"...and didn't know what would happen...maybe a "kiss" which was unusual...not like my father's kiss..."something else"...but nothing DID happen...apart from our talking for hours...and then he drove me home, and I never heard from him again.
When I heard of his suicide, I was incredulous and so really upset...guilty, even. There was nothing in his demeanor or our conversation which indicated that he was in such anxious turmoil. It has haunted me ever since.
He was a beautiful boy, a lovely young man...who knew?
How little we know of each other...ourselves are kept so hidden...even in the most obvious of us...even in the most "here" of us.
His memory is etched forever in my mind. Was there something I could have said or done? No way, Jose! Whatever was going on in his mind, this very attractive and really sweet boy, or so he seemed...it was not in my power to change a single goddamned thing. The die was cast! But still I think...."could I have made a difference?" Could I have opened up in a way which could have opened him up?
I've saved the lives of two people: one at a swimming pool in Central London...the other with the Heimlich ( spelling) maneuver. It's a nice feeling! Do they owe me their lives...I think not...I owe them.
Life continues and I hope I will be up to rescuing others! Not that this is my main object in life...it just happens, and I'm there...ready and willing...to a point!
Rock Cooper's death will always be not only a conundrum, but also a great sadness...he had much to give...he should have given life a chance...not that I don't somewhat understand his "giving up"...were it not for my darling daughter, Rachel...in the past few years, I, too, would have wondered about "signing off"...but the "life force" is pretty strong in all of us...we're programmed by " the selfish gene".
I think I should shut up now! Sometimes, most times, I just go on and on and on...without somebody to shut me up! That is what happens when you live alone with two incredibly affectionate cats. Not that I don't have friends...but they rarely confront me...tell me I'm talking a load of "balls"....although, in truth, sometimes that happens....Thank God for "true" friends.
To all of you whom I've loved...friends, acquaintances, may this 50th reunion be absolutely delicious in every possible way.
There is still a chance I can "see" you all as well as give you a one minute resume of the past 50 years ..again, Ha Ha! This response regarding Rick Cooper has turned out to be a general message to you all....if it doesn't work that way, my fault...but I don't apologise...have a problem with apologising....have to really MEAN IT!
Rick, Sharon Anderson, Larry Kater! Scott Fields, Scott Cockrell. Etc, etc. All of them meant something to some of us...and we are there to remember them...we are their living eternity....until we shuffle off this mortal coil...and then what? Nothing. I think not. Each one of them has made a difference...some more than others...and we, the human race keeps fiddling along...waiting for an answer. But the answer is so clear and obvious...life is NOW! Enjoy and embrace it, my friends and not my friends!
Just in case you all think I've taken leave of my senses, you can check me out at PRich71686@aol.com...when I get your message! within a reasonable time I'll reply.
I promise I haven't gone " all funny",...although, re-reading this it does seems so...bit I'm still the same Patty Richards you all knew...promise!
Still trying to entertain...but now realising this is for MY BENEFIT! Who cares, I certainly love it!
Patty....Patricia Richards Armstrong
Richard Irving Krohn
Thanks Burt and Patty.Rick was everything you said he was; strong,handsome, friendly and an intense competitor on the football field.I remember his wearing a sweatshirt that he had written on it a large KC.My recollection is that it was in honor of his home town of Kansas City.(Please correct me if this is wrong) Harry Garber came to visit me in Boulder while I was attending the U of Colorado and he told me about Rick.What a shame, what a loss!! The world could have used his goodness over these last 50 years.RIP. Patty,I don't think we knew each other at Shaker and I wish we had, because I love your entries.---Richard Krohn
John G Corlett
I only briefly knew Rick, But Cooper and Corlett . . . we sat next to each other several times. I thought quite highly of Rick and I even worked at Brown-Forward for one summer and found out at work. I still can't accept a suicide. On April 23, 2010 my heart stopped beating and I quit breathing. I fought pretty hard to come back to life, and believe that life is fleeting, but precious.
John
Lilli Adler (Harris)
My senior year as a Shaker majorette I had a big crush on Rick. He the big football player, me the adoring, maybe halftime girlfriend who tagged around him whenever I could.. We sometimes hung around together, but we were never really "declared" as couple! I was crazy about him.
When I went off to college, he left for Ohio Notrthern and I to OU. Then a few years later I heard about his shocking death. So many of my classmates have passed away tragically early.
Anthony Meldon
"I shared hundreds of hours with Rick on football fields and in wrestling rooms. We were teammates during games and adversaries during practice. Rick had a joyful approach to competition -that helped carry me on bad days and he was very good at what he did." Burt Weiss
Ditto Burt and...
Rick was always a joy to be around.
Always a winning smile.
Always upbeat even in adversity.
Like all of us, I wish I had been there
when he needed us most.