RIP my friend. Given the state of the world you just might be the lucky one!

You are missed...

His comedic wit and remarkable intelligence will never be forgotten. May he rest in peace.

Richard and I were significant others for 11 years, having met first in San Francisco and then ultimately relocating to Westchester County outside of NYC. He was the most intelligent guy I ever knew and one of the funniest. Even though we broke up so many years ago in the late 80s, he has always felt like family. I am saddened by his passing, and grateful that he had good friends who remember him.

Richard Burk was one of those people who stayed in my memory after I met him. Back then, I managed the property where he lived. He and I connected immediately and became friends along with John Larkin. 

I feel remiss not knowing of his passing until John Larkin told me he'd looked up Richard's obituary online. 

I still have fond memories sitting out on a deck watching the city and the world go by while we were noshing. An idyllic time I always hold in my mind. Richard will always have a place in my memories. Salute.

I was most fortunate during my 23 year stint in Seattle to meet both Richard Berk and John Larkin, two quite brilliant men who, like me, loved to drink till as late as a place would allow and freely award me with what money they had. I never knew just how much really. Our comraderie grew over the years as they and several other treasured friends, would come, wine in hand, to a dinner I made especially for them, to show my gratitude for their friendship and generosity. 
  Richard, as John has stated, was one seemingly content to die in the dust of communication devices most didn't use anymore. Reaching might have become a problem had you not correct figured he'd show up for a drink or several and a delightful chat. 
   He was a good man and a good friend. Someone you could trust. These are qualities I honor and try to live by. I thank Richard for being just who he was. He'll be missed 

I first met Richard circa 1991 when he was spending one week a month in Seattle. He stopped into Serafina, a newly opened restaurant in Eastlake. I was there because another ex-New Yorker, Frank , was tending bar a few nights a week.   Richard was then a self-employed public relations media specialist writing press releases. I saw him frequently over the years as he began spending more and more time in Seattle.

Flash forward to 1995 when another Serafina habitué, George, an émigré from Moscow, offered me a ‘sample’ copy of the newly released Windows 95. Richard, although a word smith, was then, and would remain, a digital era Luddite. He examined the packaging carefully and then proclaimed: I have an idea, let’s all jump out of Windows 95!

On another occasion our bartender, Frank, was describing the tiny apartment a friend in NYC had just rented. How small is it, Richard and I demanded, Frank thought for a second: it’s so small she doesn’t have room for call waiting. Richard was laughing so hard he had to remove his glasses to wipe the tears from his eyes.

I relocated to NYC for what I thought would be a temporary stay in 1997. Richard, who had been renting a furnished room all these years, sublet my apartment and he ended up living there almost 20 years. I last saw him in Sept. 2015 when I visited Seattle. I was saddened when the ever increasing cost of rent, coupled with his diminishing health and resources, forced him to relocate to a community residence circa 2017. I am equally sad that no one has left a comment on this page. Richard was urbane, gregarious and well-liked. I did not learn of his passing until a week ago. Richard loved Seattle, especially Fremont where he lived, and the marina at Shilshole Bay. 

Having just seen the movie Nomadland I will bid a temporary farewell, knowing that the expression: I’ll see you down the road, also applies to the departed.

John Larkin 


AVIS DE DÉCÈS

Richard D Berk

12 juillet 1946 – 18 février 2021

Butterworth Funeral Home - Arthur A Wright Chapel & Queen Anne Columbarium

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