Richard Vincent Di Ruscio was born in Healdsburg, California to parents Frances Lenora Wilson and Vincent Joseph Di Ruscio. He is the eldest of his living brothers, Roger Di Ruscio and David Di Ruscio. Richard served in the Vietnam war with the United States Army as a crew captain with OH6A Helicopter training. He received the National Defense service medal, Vietnam service medal, Vietnam campaign medal W/60 device and the Army Commendation medal before he was honorably discharged. Richard studied complex machine theory and liberal studies in college and always had a passion for mechanics and engineering. Richard met his wife, Edna Gonzaga Red, while working for her sister’s husband’s brother. She flew down from Canada for a party at Richard’s boss’s house and there was a shy but palpable chemistry between the two. After a 6 month correspondence of love letters back and forth from Canada to California, Richard proposed in one of them. They were married on July 18, 1976. Their daughter, Kimberly, came into their lives shortly after, followed by an extended family of dogs Spot and Snoopy, Booboo the rabbit, chickens, parrots and cockatoos.
Richard had 3 great loves in his life; growing things, building things, and family. There is nothing he enjoyed more than growing his own food and the backyard of he, Edna and Kimberly’s first home boasted several different fruit trees, onions, garlic, cabbage, corn, squash, zucchini, lettuce, watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries and raspberries, just to name a few. He even started a gardening/yard service company so that he could do it for a living.
His next great love was building things. He loved to take things apart and put them back together. When Edna first met him, she recalled that he had an engine on his dining table. Richard especially loved tinkering with his orange 55 Chevy and his jet drive speed boat in his early adult years.
The greatest of all his loves was the love for his family. Richard considered himself as his brothers’ keepers and the second patriarch of his family besides his father. He was the guy that always checked in with everyone, and was the glue and peacemaker that kept his family in touch. As a devout husband, he threw himself into the complete caretaking of his wife, who battled ovarian cancer for 6 years before passing in 1996. He would work during the day, come home on his lunch break to check on her and then send the caregiver home when he arrived home from work to take over for the rest of the day and night. He would repeat this for many months to years and never, ever complained about being tired or burdened. That’s just the kind of guy he was. Until his final days, Richard was a selfless, doting, loving father who also became a father to Kimberly’s group of friends.
Richard will be remembered best for being the nicest guy; someone you could ALWAYS count on, someone you could shoot the shit with, someone with no ulterior motives, no baggage, no regrets. He was down to earth and reminded us that we continue on, through pain and sorrow. For the sun rises again and again.
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