The incredibly delightful armchair philosopher has died following his heroic rescue of a bus full of nurses, puppies, and preschool children. OK, not true, but I’m sure he’d like that story rather than the reality of dying from a short illness that everyone seems to die from. Frankly, I’m sure he was just as surprised by dying in a hospital in Knoxville on Christmas Day as he would have been dying at the hands of Big Foot.
He was beaten to heaven by his son Josh but survived by his wife of 43 years, Barbara, his son Joel, and Gloria, Mike and Lana, Elise and Jesse, grandsons Jackson, Eli, Owen, granddaughter Lexie, sisters Annette, Judy, brother Logan and their families; and his special Vail family of Robert, Carmen, Manny, Ali, Barbi, Violet Roman. We hope he focuses on Josh and not on those of us still stuck here missing his humor and sage advice.
We miss his way of greeting and welcoming and loving all people with his love of God and his Son, his devotion to his wife, his loyalty to his friends, his delight in drinking sweet tea from a huge mason jar with handles, his joy in feeding and watching his hummingbirds, his uncanny ability to spot wildlife from a mile away, his super-fan knowledge of baseball (any team, any decade), his humility as a human being, his studies and discussions of the Bible, his willingness to serve people, his rescue of dogs and his love of cats, his enjoyment of ridiculous humor, his teachings in the fine art of shaving and his willingness to listen to my tales of legendary giants, and his laugh — we will all miss his laugh. He is still with us, physically, in a small cedar box on a table at my mom’s house next to a folded flag he earned by his service in the Air Force. He was a military policeman.
We know that Herb is in a better place, but the world is now less than and darker for those of us who loved him.
In lieu of flowers, a GoFundMe page titled, “Helping our friend Barb,” has been set up to assist Barb Richardson with medical expenses. For more information on the page, call 970-376-4741.
A celebration of life and a reception will be held at a later date.
