In just about whatever he did, our dad lived a life of family, love, and humor. He shared those qualities with his cherished family who remain behind including his children with Mona Loya Talamantes: Gabriel, Michelle, and Nicole; his grandchildren Kiana and Maya; sisters Margo, Corinne, and Vivian, his sister and brothers in-law, and many dearly-loved nieces and nephews (and grand-nieces and nephews). Although he has passed on from us, we know full well that a soul with so much love, life, and humor is never really gone. His spirit is truly alive and well in all our hearts and will regularly visit us whenever we hear a particularly good joke, a favorite Bruce Springsteen song, or watch the Dodgers win.
Richard Anthony Talamantes was born in Los Angeles California to Armida (Torres) Talamantes and Richard Ortega Talamantes, and grew up in Commerce, California. Along with the strong family bonds his parents instilled in their children, music and baseball were early and powerful influences on his life, ones he shared with his family. He had a lifelong enjoyment of just about any music that moved him especially anything Motown, Bruce Springsteen, and the mariachi music his mother loved so much. Memories shared of our dad as a child, without fail, describe him as inseparable from his baseball and glove. Growing up watching games with dad was like having two Vin Scullys narrate, complete with essential trivia and anecdotes. Dad’s love of baseball was so infectious that, as his sister Margo shared, when visiting Rosarito each summer, he and his family would insist on playing baseball. When other kids from the area expressed interest, dad taught them the game. Years later, one of those kids later started the first youth baseball league in the area. Summer camping trips were a tradition carried on to the following generations. One of the few things dad specifically wanted to be known was that he was responsible for finding Carpinteria Beach for the entire family, which became a cherished family tradition. We know without a doubt that right now he is pleased that his discovery has been forever established here in writing.
Richard shared his father’s and brother Con’s mischievously eyed smile and love for pranks and witty jokes. His commitment to a good joke or prank was legendary and the full-bodied laugh you earned from him when you were particularly funny was like winning a medal. And if by chance you missed the mark, his wry pitying look was a hilarious consolation prize. Dad was a born storyteller. He could turn anecdotes that would seem commonplace if told by most people into a sincerely touching narrative, or a hilarious story through his enthusiastic gestures and detail. When telling stories of his childhood, dad would regularly and effortlessly drop in one fact or another from the Dodgers game that was playing in the background at the time of the story with fondness and startlingly accurate detail (we would check). One of our favorite stories was from when the Dodger’s moved to the Coliseum in 1958. Dad would recall the sheer joy he felt as he sat on the hard benches and listened to Vin Scully call the game on his shiny new transistor radio while trying to follow the action on the oddly configured field below. He gave such loving detail we felt we had been there with him. Part of what made dad so good at telling a good story was his keen understanding of people. Dad loved to observe people and situations and figure out what made them tick. If this made him good at storytelling, it made him downright dangerous in his fantasy baseball league where fellow leaguers described him as “playing chess when the rest of us are playing checkers” and would always second guess trades with him.
Dad loved playing sports and games with all the kids in the family. He was very hard to beat but made everything fun because he brought his passion with him. Regardless of whether it was coaching softball, or playing Wiffle Ball, Trivial Pursuit, or poker, he made a point of instilling certain values in all of us: a sense of fair play, and the importance of practice and committed effort to any achievement worth attaining, especially personal growth. These were important concepts to him; they were why he was very proud to be a union man (Teamsters) and was always ready to fight for the side of right and equality. In his own life, right until the end, dad was always trying to be the best person he could be. He was devoted to his parents and siblings and they, in turn, have always been devoted to him. From cheering him on at all of his childhood baseball games to providing warm and loving care for him as his condition grew worse, and for carrying on that tradition of unbreakable family bonds, we are deeply thankful to Tia Margo, Tia Corinne, and Tia Viv and Uncle Joe. Dad relished being a grandfather and granduncle, cherishing the simple joys of playing with the kids and watching them as they grew.
To the last, dad always sought to make things as easy as possible for his loved ones. It is for this reason that we take comfort in the date of his passing, May 5, 2020 which was 12 years to the day that his beloved baby brother Conrad passed on too soon. As if dad wanted us to know that he was with his brother, and also his parents, and his goddaughter Lia who left us this January, also much too soon. He is still with his family, just the other side of it, and no doubt they are having a blast.
During the unprecedented and difficult time that we are in, we regret that we must postpone having an in-person memorial. We know from talking to dad in the days before he passed that he absolutely would not have wanted any of his loved ones to gather together while it is still unsafe to do so. To honor and respect his wishes, as soon as it is safe to do so we will plan a worthy memorial gathering and share the details with family and friends. In the meantime, a web-conferencing memorial will take place on Sunday Jun 7th, 2020 at 12pm. For invitation link, please email [email protected] as soon as possible. We would also like to ask that you email us any pictures you have of dad that you would like to share so they could be added to the memorial.
COMPARTA UN OBITUARIO
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