Born and raised in Washington, D.C., he was graduated from St. Anthony’s Catholic High School in Brookland in 1949. As a youngster, he delivered The Washington Star newspaper in the neighborhood where he grew up, 13th and Varnum Streets, NE. He knew the neighborhood so well that he never failed to come up with the right answer when asked, “Who lived at such-and-such address?”
Richard joined The Star as an apprentice printer after high school, embarking on a six-year training program. A few years in, he joined the Army, with The Star holding his apprenticeship until his return. After serving in Germany from 1952-1954, he was honorably discharged as a staff sergeant. He continued to wear his Army Big Red One affiliation proudly throughout his life. Richard picked up his career at The Star and was named Outstanding D.C. Apprentice in 1958, receiving the Bridges-Randolph Award, bestowed by the District Apprenticeship Council.
When The Star closed in 1981, Richard was 50. Always prepared for whatever was next, he had a Plan B. He had learned previously how to prepare income taxes, then built his business, Gets’ Experienced Tax Service, accumulating thousands of clients over the years. He saw clients at all hours, making him a favorite of firefighters, police officers, and health care workers who worked off-shift. In the early days of the business, he rose early every day to deliver The Washington Post and Washington Times, along with his first wife, Concetta Cotturo, whom he married in 1954. He personally continued to serve his clients until a recent illness, taking care to set in place a business succession plan.
Richard was a Girl Dad before it was a “thing.” Raising two daughters in the 1950s and 1960s, he encouraged his girls to go to college and do whatever they wanted career-wise. There was no hint of “you can’t do that because you’re a girl.” He coached girls softball with the Green Meadows-Chillum (Md.) Boys and Girls Club for many years in the 1960s and 1970s, taking his team from worst-to-first in one year, emphasizing practice and drills. His teams won many Prince George’s County Boys & Girls Club championships. He loved those tight games with the Langley Park and Adelphi teams, many of which were settled by one run. In 1966, he and the late John Tilley, from the Landover Hills Boys & Girls Club, were the first coaches of girls soccer in Prince George’s County.
After his daughters grew to adulthood, he coached soccer for many years at Regina High School in Adelphi, Md., and Trinity University, in D.C. He was named Women’s College Soccer Coach of the Year in the Middle Atlantic Conference in the late 1990s.
Also known as “Mr. Gets,” Richard mentored many young people in and outside of the tax business, helped them get their careers started, or encouraged them to expand their formal education.
Richard was a devoted member of Holy Rosary Catholic Church, in Northwest D.C. He also had been a member of the Knights of Columbus and served as a catacomb guide with the Knights of Mount Sepulcher at the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America, in Northeast, D.C., in the 1950s and 1960s.
His first wife died in 2000. Survivors include his second wife, Concetta Falcone Goetzinger, whom he married in 2003; daughters Annamarie DeCarlo (Joseph) and Michelle Borda (Richard); a sister, Jean Marie Kelly; a brother Paul (Theresa); many nieces and nephews and great-nieces and great-nephews; stepsons Michael and Francesco Legnaioli; and his wife’s extended family in Italy. His parents, Joseph A. and Mary N. Goetzinger; a brother, Joseph Goetzinger; and a sister, Maryanne Goetzinger Berry, predeceased him.
Visitation will be held Monday, Oct. 16, 4-8 p.m., at Hines-Rinaldi Funeral Home, 11800 New Hampshire Ave., Silver Spring, Md. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Tuesday, Oct. 17, 10 a.m., at Holy Rosary Catholic Church, 595 3rd St., NW, Washington, D.C., with burial following at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, 1300 Bladensburg Rd., NE. Donations in his name may be made to The Salvation Army or St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.
