Pops you were a proud man, the tough guy, the provider, the Airborne Ranger Father,  Grandfather & great grandfather! I'm so proud of you. You showed your strength & showed what a badass you were especially when you decided to fight this disease. Thank you for giving us that extra time with you. I will forever cherish the bond you had with my kids. Jaxon will know who his Papa the Great is. You taught me that hard work pays off & family is everything. You made me who I am today. An amazing Scrabble player & a strong person who will never back down no matter what. Pop I hope I made you proud. I DID EVERYTHING YOU ASKED ME TO DO & will continue to follow through with your orders. You held up your end of our pinky promise & I will hold up mine. We will get Mom through this. May the Lord bless you! I love you always! Thank you for being my Hero.

Love, 
Papapoo 

One of my earliest and favorite memories was when you taught me how to play horseshoes in your back yard, and I remember I always admired your movie collection so much that I always wanted one of my own when I grew up.  You were definitely one of the coolest and most bad ass men I’ve ever known. When I grew up you took me into your home, I’ll always be grateful for that. 
I still cherish the memories I have of us sitting outside on the front porch talking about life, religion, history, and anything else that we would get into. Those conversations had such an incredible impact on how I see the world. You raised so many great children and watched them grow, and I can say, without a shadow of a doubt. You helped me become the man I am today. 
I love you always Uncle Richard! 
Rest easy with all your dogs in heaven. 

To the strongest man I know, you will be missed dearly. Thank you for all the amazing memories throughout my life. My whole life I looked up to you and wanted to be just like my Papa and follow in your footsteps. Im proud to say that I did in many ways. Not only were you the best Papa but you were the best Papa THE GREAT to Jaxon. I will forever be grateful that you were able to meet your great grandson. As he grows up he will hear so many stories of his papa the great and I’m sure many laughs will be shared watching the videos of you singing to him with that beautiful voice of yours. You may be gone but you will never be forgotten. I love you!
Love, Monkey 

RIP  Tio mio. You will be missed. I know your in heaven playing cards & shooting pool with my dad. We love you. 

There is a million and one memories I have with Papa its hard to choose just one  but I am grateful for every one of them.  Papa was and is the strongest man I have ever known. He is a father to us all and will forever be with us. Whenever I get hurt or sick I can hear Papa  telling me I'm AIRBORNE! He instilled a strength in all of us that I will forever be grateful for. The love and care that Papa and Mema gave us as grandparents over the years are memories that I cherish. I can't believe I won't hear that amazing laugh or thunderous yell again. The world was so much better with him in it but I know one day I will see him again.  I know with every wise joke, every time I don't know what to do with my car, every hospital stay, or broken bone Papa will be there with me.  Papa has left us but he left us with his strength strong enough to handle anything, strong enough to fight anything. He will always be our strength. AIRBORNE!!

What started out as a gag gift became a tradition between us. I looked forward to those Jamaican patties from you, every year on Christmas day. It's one of  the little things I know I'll miss come the holidays.  I wasn't gonna write anything because I just thought it wasn't my place. But I decided to because you really meant something to me. You gave me a spot. You gave a place! When Jessica and I first got together, I had a strained relationship with my father. You became my 2nd father for so many yrs!  I will always cherish  our private conversations in the backyard. We would talk about anything and everything! You would vent to me and I'd listen. I would vent to you and you would do the same. In one of those talks, you told me that I should try to repair my relationship with my father.  Because life was just too short. Years later I would take your advise and mend things with my father. I thank you for that and I'm sure Joey does too. I know a piece of our family will be missed but we'll continue to move forward because that is what you said you wanted many times before you passed. I write this with a heavy heart and with love and tremendous respect for a man that gave me everything! I thank you for welcoming me into your family. For blessing me with my beautiful, strong wife, my kids and grandson. I don't think it was ever said but it was always shown. I love you!  Rest in peace and may God welcome you with open arms!

Your son (in-law),

Derek.

P.S. When the time comes, I will pass on your "famous" knife you passed onto me to someone I deem worthy and it will officially be a family heirloom with a back story to match. Until then, I'll keep it safe with me. Always!

Uncle Richard, 

Your memories will forever live on in the stories I hear from all of those who knew and loved you so dearly. I wish distance wasn’t a factor…I know in my heart you were the most amazing father, grandfather, uncle and friend.  I know you are at peace dancing in the clouds with grandma and grandpa. I love you. ❤️ 

So many amazing memories from NY with all of the family, the late nights card games and our family being so so close. I will hold those memories close to my heart always. One memory that comes to mind is my tio's gum ball machine filled with sunflower seeds. Whenever I'd visit, I'd go to town on them with him and we'd eat them till our fingers and lips were pruned! At first he was like those are mine! But then he always made sure he stocked it up so I can have some! I love all the stories of Vietnam he always told us and showing us his uniform with BULLET holes in it! 
My Rennie also started calling him papa, and his little cousins were confused and said that's really not your papa, he told them and Rennie that his real papa no longer here so he will be his papa. I will never forget it and neither will he. May you rest in peace with my pop and our lita and lito in heaven. 
We love you,
Laurie, Reggie, Rennie, Ruby 

Dear Richard  We will forever cherish the Good times, laughter  we shared. Richard you were a Wonderful Man. You Loved your Family with all your Heart, unconditionally. You were always happy and had a smile when you saw us.  Family find comfort in all the  Beautiful Memories you all shared with him. You will be missed. We will keep you in our Heart and thoughts forever. Rest In Eternal Paradise. You Earned Your Wings. Fly High
Love You Lisa, Eddie

Pop, there are no words that can tell you how much I’m going to miss you. You were a father to me longer then my own father was. You saw me through so many milestones getting married having my children! You were an Amazing grandfather I’ll forever treasure the memories of you with your grandchildren especially your last dance with your girl Brooklynn! Thank you for everything! I will Love and Miss you forever!

Mia

Pops, there are no words to express how much you will be missed and how blessed I have been to have you in my life.  You helped me shop for my very first car.  You enriched my spiritual journey with your love and knowledge of the Bible.  You helped me move into my first apartment that I had on my own.  And who can forget the time “Detective Gazard” helped me get the computer back?  Lol!  That last one was a classic.   Last but not least, pink nail polish!   You always made me feel loved like a daughter and I will forever be grateful for that.  I cannot thank you enough for being such a wonderful example of the love of a father in my life.  I made a promise to you and I will not let you down.  I will love you always and miss you dearly.  God Bless you Pops and Rest In Peace.  

Pop, your smile, your jokes, your sarcasm and you everlasting wisdom will be missed greatly! 
 I will cherish the memories of you always welcoming me at all the family gatherings just like I was part of the family! 
Xoxo
Jen

Hi Pops, it’s been 5 days since you’ve been gone.  All of us have been shown an outpouring of love since your passing.  I’m sure you’ve seen that.  You had so many people that loved you.  Especially all of us.  There is a big hole in all of our hearts that will never fully be repaired. Many say that it gets better with time.  But how can you forget the person that was the catalyst of our whole family. You’ve taught me everything I know. I know wasn’t the best son or  the one to be proudest of but, I will try and to make you proud. This way I when we meet again I can hope to hear you say you were proud of me.  I have big shoes to fill. You  will never be forgotten and I will tell all of my grandkids one day of their hero great grandfather and  your great stories.  You taught me to be a gentleman, self esteem and how to be a great father and husband.  For that I thank you.  I will love and miss you forever.  
Love Coco   (Richard W Gazard)

OBITUARY

Richard Gazard

January 22, 1951 – October 7, 2021

Baldwin-Fairchild Oaklawn Chapel

Show your support

Add a Memory

Share Obituary

Get Updates

Services