Richard E. Draper

He was born on February 10th, 1956, in Portsmouth, RI to Richard Alan and Emma “Jill” Draper. He is survived by his brother, James H. Draper of Providence, RI. A life-long Rhode Island resident, Rick grew up in Portsmouth, later moving to the Smith Hill neighborhood of Providence, and spending his final year in the heart of Federal Hill. Rick enjoyed frequenting the local stores and restaurants and talking with everybody he met. He knew no judgement of others, treating every person he met with an open mind and open heart. In the early 2000’s, Rick could be spotted around Jewett Street in Providence with his beloved dog, Nanook, a lovable malamute whom he cherished dearly.

A horror movie fanatic and huge fan of Tom Savini, Rick had an endless knowledge of classic horror movie trivia to share. He was a collector of all things monster and macabre, especially Elvira and Vincent Price memorabilia. Inspired by his love of horror, Rick was also a truly unique, outsider artist. With a natural and unstudied hand, he created “lowbrow” comics that paid homage to the works of Spain Rodriguez. While undiscovered, his art can be spotted on the inside sleeves of his massive Death Metal record collection. A few lucky people have been fortunate enough to purchase these embellished album covers.

As a real outsider, Rick identified as a Biker. One of his proudest accomplishments was rebuilding a crated 1951 Harley Davidson Panhead and traveling to Laconia with his friends. While growing up in Portsmouth he developed a love for shortwave radio, going so far as to build his own outdoor antenna. His handle for CB was GTO – his favorite car!

Richard will be sorely missed by his friends, his newly found community in Federal Hill, his old friends of Smith Hill and Portsmouth, and his older brother, Jim.