Rich was an amazing athlete growing up - he played football, baseball (had an unbelievable natural curveball that would leave batters bailing out and umpires shaking their heads), softball, wiffle ball, and golf. He is still the only one of his siblings to score a hole-in-one (occurred at Pine Bay, hole 7 using a 9 iron) and this was witnessed by his brothers.
Rich's early years in Hutchinson included neighborhood games which led to many lifelong friendships. Moving to a farm near Little River, Kansas in 1972, Rich with his brothers and sister had fun with their garden, riding bikes, running around the farm and helping with farm chores. There were summer nights that Rich and his siblings would be awakened by their dad to fight prairie fires with gunny sacks and buckets of water. One year the siblings decided to sell fireworks which enabled the crew to have many of their own fireworks to light off (no prairie fires were started by the fireworks).
Rich married his best friend, Tina Marie (Brady) on Sept 16, 2006. He was a loving and devoted husband and loved his entire family dearly and unconditionally. His ability to be a good listener made him an instant friend to many. He had many passions and the Kansas City Chiefs football team was among the top. You could always count on Rich cheering (very loudly) for the Chiefs. He was the ultimate Chiefs fan and had an uncanny amount of knowledge about them. Rich engaged in collecting and was knowledgeable of all things Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel, and other sci-fi. He was an avid gamer for many years, creating great friendships with his co-workers and others he met gaming. All this and his easy going nature made him popular with his nieces and nephews!
Rich worked in various service industry jobs during his career, most notably Dillons and Walmart. Rich was often recognized for his hard work and dedication, as well as for his easy-going and supportive demeanor toward his co-workers. Everyone enjoyed working with and for Rich!
Richard is preceded in death by his grandparents, Martin and Mabel Rothe and Ralph and Edith Randall; father, Gary Rothe; father-in-law, Cecil Brady; and fur babies: Bear, Daisy, and Layla.
Those left to cherish his memory are his wife, Tina; mother, Joan; siblings: Randall (Gwenn), Ronald (Yvonne) and Rhonda (Tony); mother-in-law, Norma "Jean" Brady; brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Brian & Michelle Betschart; nieces and nephews: Ronnica (Doug), Riley (Amanda), Caitlen (Dorian), Caryn (Brent), Drew, Steven, Jacy, Tory and Jordyn; and great-nieces and nephews: Kaylee, Brooke, Martin, Ewan, Nolan, Elka, Brynn, Summer, and Finral.
A private family graveside service for Rich will be held. A Celebration of Life for Rich will be held in July.
Memorial contributions in his honor may be made to the Kansas Humane Society, 3313 N. Hillside, Wichita, KS 67219 or online at give.kshumane.org
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