Richard E Friedman

He was born on November 4, 1937 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Dick is survived by wife Beatrice, his eldest daughter Debra B. Jones, her husband Ken and their two daughters Lindsey and Julia. Dick is also survived by his youngest daughter, Robin Wisniewski, her husband, Chris, and their children Nicole and Christopher. He also leaves behind his extended family in Smithtown, New York.

Dick spent his childhood years in Yonkers, New York.

From 1943- 1954 he spent his elementary school and high school years at the Hebrew National Orphan Home. He had many fond memories of growing up there and, made life long friends.

Most of his adult life he lived in Brooklyn, New York and worked for UPS.

He was a talented basketball player. One of the highlights of his life was his opportunity to play basketball at Madison Square Garden. He also had a passion for the game of golf and all sports.

He married his wife in1970 and embraced his new family.

He began a new career in the city as a Fortran computer programmer in his thirties. It was soon after that he decided to take a leap of faith and moved his family to Phoenix, Arizona in search of a better quality of life than New York presentedat that time.

Once relocated to Phoenix he discovered that the computer language Fortran was already obsolete. That’s when his new career as a baker for bread manufacturer, Holsum Bakery began. He moved to Sacramento, California to bake for the Wonder Bread company.

Dick semi-retired and moved to Florida where he was close to family. He took his “dream” part time job working for the Lake Buena Vista golf course at Disney World.

The last 4 years he lived with his eldest daughter and her family in Bradenton, Florida.

There, Dick discovered that one of his favorite foods to enjoy were wings at our local Bogey’s restaurant. In fact, he would go there every Wednesday, and he adopted the day as “Wings Wednesday.”

He read voraciously and visited the library twice a week and read at least four books a week. He enjoyed reading books of the political genre and was interested in all facets of the political arena. He had a fierce commitment and love for his country.

He was also very concerned with global, and environmental issues of the day.

Dick had a love for the arts, particularly for Broadway shows and show tunes.

Dick loved life. He lived a happy and full life. As he always said, “ I have no regrets of the choices I have made in my life.” He enjoyed every minute of living even through challenging times.

Dick will be missed by his family and friends.He was loved and cherished. He will be missed.

There will be an honor guard service June 1, 2018 at 9:30 in the Sarasota National Cemetery.