Richard "Rick" Drake Vanderpool

Born July 27, 1949, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Rick called several places home throughout his life, but his favorite place of all was Texas.

He had fond memories of boyhood and time spent in and around Flat River, Missouri. Rick served in the U.S. Air Force and went on to attend the University of Georgia’s Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communications, graduating in 1975.

After graduation, he worked as a staff photographer for Calloway Gardens before returning to Athens to open his first studio, “Latent Genius.” He later rebranded the business as “The Ware Street Design Group” and remained in Athens until moving to Commerce, Texas, in 1993. There, he published the local paper and co-operated Prairie Rose Studio.

Commerce was the birthplace of Rick’s “Looking for Texas” project and the subsequent book documenting his travels to all 254 counties. He also created photographic montages celebrating subjects ranging from barbecue to wine. As a dear friend wrote: “You see posters of wildflowers in stores, homes, and offices. Rick Vanderpool of Lubbock did them.”

His final project, “CrossIn+America,” included journal entries and photographs of significant Christian crosses across all 50 states.

In his own words: “I’ve done a lot of things. I saw this phrase written somewhere: a thousand words are worth a picture.”

Rick was a creative entrepreneur, a captivating storyteller, and just about anything else he set his mind to be. He was truly one of a kind and is already dearly missed by many.

He leaves behind his four children; Julie, Jennie, Evan and Jessica, seven grandchildren, two siblings; Reggie and Sue, three nieces, one nephew, six great-nieces, one great-nephew, and countless dear friends, near and far.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Rick’s memory to the Lubbock Arts Alliance, 1500 Broadway St., Lubbock, TX 79401.