Barry Goldberg part two
Rick didn’t speak much about his time in Vietnam, but he would regale us with stories of his parachute jumps. I will always remember his sharing his last day of parachuting when he jumped a dozen times and would have done more. He had the glee on his face of a child going again and again on a roller coaster, but he instead was jumping out of a helicopter.
Another of his great stories was his preparing for the firefighter’s exam. One of the tasks was to walk along a ledge with a heavy pack to demonstrate balance and endurance. To practice for this test, Rick set up a thin wooden plank in his apartment and practiced for hours with a backpack loaded with bricks until he could scamper across it like a mountain goat jumping along a cliff. He aced the test!
He was loyal to his fellow firefighters. He asked me to wear a bracelet in memory for one of his colleagues who had fallen on 9/11 who would have no one to remember him. I don’t need a bracelet to remember Rick! His memory is indelibly etched into my mind and my son’s even if it’s partially because when we meet, we try to practice Rick’s jujutsu holds and wrist locks that Rick taught us.
One final story. Rick responded to a call with his company to a fire in a bar in the Bronx. He described the flames licking through the space and smoke filling the room. When the crisis had passed, Rick positioned himself behind the bar and was calmly filling glasses of beer and sliding them down the bar to help quench the thirst of his fellow firefighters and maybe the flames. The fire chief walks in and yells “Peitler, I figured it would be you! Get out of there!” 
Rick always answered the call to his country, his community, his friends and his family.
May his memory be for a blessing as his life was to all who had the privilege to call him a friend.
Barry Goldberg part two

I know Rick from karate. He took me under his wing while I was in my late sixties and helped train me. I am blessed to have known him and call myself one of his friends.
Rick had a gruff, battered, garrulous and irreverent exterior, reflecting his life experiences in the 82nd Airborne Division, an elite scout in Vietnam, a firefighter, a World Trade Center first responder, a fighter against kidney failure and a dedicated martial artist. But beneath this exterior was a sensitive man who was always there for his family, friends, country and community. He was thoughtful, but opinionated. Willing to listen to other points of view, to which he would unhesitantly share his opinion, punctuated with appropriate adjectives and some expletives so there was no confusion. But he would listen! Rick brought you into his fellowship, regardless of your walk of life.
His workouts at the dojo were unique and his voice will always resound in my head as I engage in warmups. He would give joy to my son, Matt, when Matt attended class by supervising Matt’s aggressive, but loving, sparring with his old man. I will remember, with a smile, Rick’s quick but friendly hook punch at me as I was finishing a sparing exercise with him, to make sure I was paying attention. He always accompanied it with a smile and a laugh.
Rick’s stories of playing soccer with Scooter, one of his grandchildren, will always bring a smile to my face. He would come in battered and bruised after one of these sessions but would share Scooter’s excitement. I think he couldn’t wait until Scooter was a little older and he could begin sparring with him at the dojo and go from losing in soccer to winning in martial arts, if only for a little bit.
Barry Goldberg part one

As Charlie McNiff annotated 
Ricky, Carol and Lois 
Christmas 1976
Wantagh

Cousin Kenny’s wedding 1978
Ricky second from right

Dad Charlie, Carol, Lois, Ricky 
At Ruth and Charlie’s in Fresh Meadows in 1978

Paul’s 65th at table 53 at Crabtree’s on May 24 2017

Aunt Jeanne (Joanie’s) and Ricky 
Carol’s backyard 2007

Lois and Ricky enjoying their wedding reception 1976

Joanie and Joe’s wedding Dec 1975
Ricky last on the left

Ricky and Carol at Liam the dog’s 10th birthday

Ricky on bus after Carol and Paul’s wedding 1982

Ricky and brother Joe at the Ricky’s wedding in June 1976

Hey bro in law! You are gone. Hard to wrap my head around your absence from this world. We grew up together in the Pomonok housing project. There were many baby boomers like us and all of us were connected by play, school and church. 
You and I share the same birth year and the same day of the month, the 9th. Yours in May, mine in August.
We grew up and you became part of our family through marriage to my younger sister. We enjoyed many events, parties and gatherings over the years. Remembering fondly our exchanges over my iconic Irish coffees.

You were quite the handsome groomsman in my 1982 wedding to Paul. 

We bonded through both our involvements in 9/11. You working on the pile at the WTC and my SSA unit doing the survivor claims for the families of those who perished.

In the ensuing years we both helped with grandson James’s life, picking him up from school, ensuring he made it to soccer practice and attending events at St Gregory’s.


One of the last times I saw you was at James’s first Communion on May 4th. We had quite the celebration at Crabtree’s following the church service. 
The staff brought out a piece of cake for your birthday which was occurring 5 days later.
Glad we all shared in that day and that you were happy to be recognized. 

You left the world on September 5 after completing your mission of picking up James at school. Truly a miracle that you were able to do that because you passed away only minutes later on the couch. 

Thank you for enhancing the world. 

Love, 
Your favorite McNiff sister-in-law
Carol

I had the wonderful opportunity of meeting Ricky at his sister in law’s house. We chatted and he made me feel as if I had known him forever. I think perhaps because we shared that fire department familyhood
He was a wonderful person, father and husband. In the total hours and minutes of our lives we didn't spend much time together but I will cherish the time we did

Dearest Elizabeth, I am very sad and on the passing of your dad. Please be rest assured that he is with our loving Jesus may God hold you in the palm of his hand. I’m here for you love always.
Laurie

OBITUARY

Richard W. Peitler

9 May, 1950 – 5 September, 2024

R. Stutzmann & Son

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