Ricardo Diaz is known to me as Mr. Diaz. That’s because I met him ~ ’89-91, when I was 12-14. Hanging with Hommy and meeting Mr. Diaz back then had a stabilizing effect on my life. Around the age where some kids would wonder and ask their parents about what they did for work / what work was like, those answers weren’t exactly there for me. When I was 11, my father passed away after battling cancer. Mom, left to raise 3 kids, became a working mom, which meant I had a lot of time on my own. Without something to focus on, it would have been easy to become untethered, disconnected. I picked up a skateboard during that time, and in Flushing when you finally get an ollie just right, Hommy’s internal skate-dar (Skateboard Radar) picks up on that signature board pop. Something that relied on defying gravity for milliseconds at a time, kept me grounded. Before I knew it, I was hanging at casa Diaz and skating with all sorts of kids in and around the neighborhood. Once you’re friends with Hommy, you meet his family, including of course, Mr. Diaz. It was thanks to him that I once found myself at Mullaly, even though I had no business being there. On more than one occasion, I’d tag along with HD to drop something off to his dad (usually lunch or something). During a time when ALL of us latchkey kids were on our own until the parents came home at dusk from their daily hustle, Hommy had something like a cheat-code, giving access to his dad on occasion during the day. And I was all for it. Here was a kid who was just a few kick-pushes away from his dad (~ five minutes as the board rolls), accessible, able to interact and answer questions most kids might have about their work. That normal, everyday father-son interaction was like gravity to me, it kept me grounded. To Ricardo Diaz, a brother, husband, father and grandfather, thank you for allowing me to bear witness to the act of being an everyday father when I needed it. May you be lifted to the heavens and rest in eternal peace.

TO MY BEAUTIFUL JOSIE & FAMILY SENDING MY PRAYERS AND CONDOLENCES......
LOVE, HELEN

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Ricardo Diaz

8 February, 1952 – 14 May, 2024

Frederick Funeral Home

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