Honoring a Legend

Scott Adams Where does one start when honoring a

legend? Richard Riley was a legend in our industry, yes. He was also a legend of Jacksonville Beach where he served on the Life Saving Corps for more than 50 years and twice as president. He was a legend at St. Paul’s Catholic Church where he was born, baptized, married, and remembered by over 500 people during his funeral in March. Most important, he was a legend to his family, from his son Doug Riley and brother-in-law Doug Barrow, to his son-in-law and oldest grandson. I cannot remember a more impressive service about anyone I’ve ever known.

Trying to fit who Richard was in this Publisher’s Letter isn’t possible, so I will instead tell you a few stories about this amazing human being.

At the age of 16 while working at a restaurant in Jacksonville called Stricklands, Richard worked with a young man who was deaf. Richard took it upon himself to learn sign language so he could talk with him, ensuring he wouldn’t feel left out.

As a founding member of PSS, Richard impacted thousands of lives. When we announced his passing in the Dail-eNews, I received no less than a 100 Thank You notes and countless stories about Richard. One that struck me was a young woman working at PSS corporate. Richard found out her car was in the shop, so he drove her to work for the next week. When it came time to pick up her car, he paid for the repairs.

Richard had his entire family at Ruth Chris for a dinner a few months back. The day before the dinner his grandson, who seemingly was a chip off the old block, said, “Papa I’d rather just have McDonalds.” As the servers brought out the spread, one meal was missing. Richard set him up and a beautiful happy meal box was placed on the table. Fortunately, it had a Ruth Chris steak in it.

He also loved pranks. Three weeks ago, Richard called me out of the blue because I told a story about him on a podcast. I got a few of the facts wrong and he wanted to bust my chops. He had me laughing for the next 30 minutes. I’m forever grateful for that phone call. It had been over a year since I had last spoken to him.

Richard Riley – husband, father, brotherin-law, grandfather, mentor, volunteer, lifeguard, businessman, friend, prankster, and legend. I will never think about Richard and not smile or laugh. He made everyone better.

In honor of this legend, I would like to leave you with this life lesson: Don’t let years go by while not talking to the people you love and respect. As thankful as I am for that call, I wish I would have talked to him every week. There was never a call, meeting, or interaction with Richard that I didn’t gain something from.

Dedicated to the industry,

R. Scott Adams

Repertoire is published monthly by Share Moving Media 1735 N. Brown Rd., Suite 140, Lawrenceville, GA 30043 Phone: (800) 536-5312, FAX: (770) 709-5432; e-mail: info@sharemovingmedia.com; www.sharemovingmedia.com

editorial staff

editor Mark Thill

mthill@sharemovingmedia.com managing editor Graham Garrison

ggarrison@sharemovingmedia.com editor-in-chief, Dail-eNews Pete Mercer

pmercer@sharemovingmedia.com art director Brent Cashman

bcashman@sharemovingmedia.com circulation Laura Gantert

sales executive Amy Cochran

acochran@sharemovingmedia.com (800) 536.5312 x5279

publisher Scott Adams

sadams@sharemovingmedia.com (800) 536.5312 x5256

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2022 editorial board

Richard Bigham: Atlantic Medical Solutions Eddie Dienes: McKesson Medical-Surgical Joan Eliasek: McKesson Medical-Surgical Ty Ford: Henry Schein Doug Harper: NDC Homecare Mark Kline: NDC Bob Ortiz: Medline Keith Boivin: IMCO Home Care

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