Dear Suzanne,

I am deeply sorry for your family’s loss.

Rick was an incredible person and has throughout the years been a wonderful supporter of me and my business.

An Incredibly intelligent and thoughtful human being -  I and all of us at GI Stone are honored to have known him .

With love,

Sandya Dandamudi 

my deepest condolances.  Im sorry for your tremendous loss.  If i can do anything at all, please do not hesatate to ask. 
god bless your family

As I reflect on one of my oldest friend's life, I can't help but go back to 1976 when I entered New Trier West HS with  just two  friends Sid and Jack Fleishman.  The three of us were displaced from our  Winnetka junior high school friends who all went to New Trier East.  Freshman year Ricky and I both tried out for the Tennis team and we hit it off right away.  It was through Ricky that I met all these great guys from Wilmette and the rest is history.  There are many great memories that I will cherish about my time with Ricky. From driving around in that little red hatchback Chevette,to skiing at Alpine Valley memorizing Springsteen lyrics on the chairlift, crazy stupid evenings at Diana's in Greektown(SMO), and big lunches downtown after we both found jobs in the real estate business.  Ricky's greatest impact on me without doubt goes back to 1979 when he said "TK please come with me to the Sears store  Racine Wisconsin, we are going to be first in line when Ticketmaster opens and we will be guaranteed front row seats for the Springsteen show in Rosemont" Needless to say I didn't know it would mean sleeping on the sideway all night in front of the store".  We did get front row seats and my life was about to change forever. Since that first show I have seen well over 100 Springsteen concerts and I think of Rick at every show. Even though Ricky and I didn't see much of each other over the last 20 years our paths did cross many times for business reasons. Ricky has become a prominent owner and investor in Chicago commercial real estate and we have negotiated several transactions together. A year ago I told Ricky I was going to meet Bruce at a book signing and Ricky said come to my house I have a present for you. He gave me the holy grail of Bruce collectibles - The 1975 Time and Newsweek original covers in mint condition. He said "Tk , I am passing the throne on to you". That was Ricky! He deeply cared about his family and friends. I will miss him. RIP my old friend. 

my deepest sympathy to the blum family. I am a close friend of howard blum ,and I actually helped teach rick tennis in Knoxville,tn. when he was a teenager and came to Knoxville in the summer. I still am in shock from hearing this from howard. am praying for God's comfort to the family in this time of mourning.  sincerely, Michael and Ann Bales

I think I can safely say I was Ricky’s first best friend, although it certainly didn’t start out that way. When the Pattis/Blum clan (aka Brady bunch) moved on to Koerper Ct. way back when, they built their house on the empty lot that was my personal play ground! Fortunately it was not long after that, Ricky and I became friends, literally starting in kindergarden. Below I will share some PG-13 memories of my long friendship with Ricky.
Ricky and I (and often Howie as well) spent hours in the Pattis basement divided equally between ping pong, and a made up game called “ships”. The sound track to both, believe it or not was the music from the Damn Yankees broadway show. To this day, I still know most of the words to the entire show. It really wasn’t until 5th grade where Ricky and I had our first “falling out”. We both ran for class president of Romona grade school. Id like to think it was my looks and smarts that won out for me, but it was more likely my campaign approach—vote for Andy, he gives you candy. Ricky tried to counter with plums, but Jolly Ranchers were much preferred.
Locust Junior High got us out of the basement and playing sports pretty much every day. Kick the can was also heavily in rotation. While I peaked at 5’7”, Ricky kept growing and was by far the superior athlete, although outside of tennis, Howie was clearly headed for some pro sport. Ricky and I were still hanging out pretty much every day, and somewhere along the way girls came into the mix. Again, Ricky being the more advanced—now for sure because of his looks.
New Trier WEST, and while we still hung out every day pretty much, I don’t remember much kick the can going on. Freshman year Ricky also discovered Bruce Springsteen. Not only did he turn all of us on to the Boss, he even cut his own bootleg album! First signs of the entrepreneur that would blossom later. My fondest memory of high school is the Red Chevette – Ricky got wheels! (continued)

Part 2:  

I think the car cost $1500, and Ricky put in a $1500 stereo!! I am 100% certain anyone who rode in that car more than once suffered some permanent hearing loss. Rocky Horror and Diannas(oopah…ahhhhh) dominated the weekends, both often the same night. Somehow we survived.
We drifted apart after heading off to college, although we were never not in some kind of contact. As often happens in the world, fast forward to today, and his daughter and mine wind up in a dance class together at New Trier.
And now he is gone. Above is only a small part of the flood of memories of my oldest friend. Ricky, we will miss you dearly. Thanks for being part of my life for so long.

Andy


Suzanne, I just heard the news through SNAP.  I am so sorry to hear of Rick's passing.  I enjoyed working with him in the real estate world and then years later, meeting you up here in the dancing community.  I will be thinking of you and Laila and your entire family.   Condolences, Nancy

To the family,

So shocked and sorry to hear of Rick's passing. Within the surprisingly small Chicago real estate community, he was one of the "good guys", competent, skilled, ethical, honest and helpful to those of us with whom he connected. Extremely successful in his career, I will never forget his sharing how Neve's health issues dramatically changed his views and priorities on life. He will be missed within the industry, the city, and the community he touched in his life.

J. Michael Drew

I’m so sorry Suzanne, Cooper, Layla and Neve that Rick is gone too soon. I loved Rick like a brother. He had more passion and energy for his family and his business deals than anyone I’ve known well. For fifteen years we’d ride the train together, work all day together, then talk at night and generally were so energized working together that things never got stale. Not only did he have one of the fastest minds, but was always intensely loyal to his friends and family. When we met 25 years ago, he was single and lonely. He kept busy, but seemed incomplete. One day he burst into the office with a Starbuck’s triple espresso in hand and blurted “Steve, do you remember that pretty girl I had a crush on at New Trier High School I ran into a couple weeks ago? Well, I think she likes me!” Before we knew it Rick was head over heels in love with Suzanne Chambers. And even after they married you Suzanne and had you children, he still talked about how much he loved Suzanne. He was the most devoted father and husband I’ve ever known. And Neve when you were sick and needed to go to New York City every six weeks for treatments, he never hesitated to be there for you. And in the real estate world, he was known as smart and aggressive with total integrity and honesty. People he dealt with always knew exactly where they stood with Rick. He put on no airs. Rick left this world a better place. His devotion to you Suzanne and you children, his successful real estate projects and his loyal friendships with so many of us were extraordinary. I count myself lucky to have known you Rick. I miss you. Steve


I first met Rick and Suzanne through our sons going to grade school together...we became fast friends. They defined unconditional friendship and were always so generous. He loved sitting in that 4 season room...Hawks on the TV, and cigars ablaze.  A view of the kitchen with kids, dogs, and pot belly pigs running all over the place. He loved it all. 

My job in media allowed some special access...Summer Bash and Jingle Bash concerts for the boys. Rick always offered to drive as many boys as he could fit in his car to and from the show(s). When people around the station heard of his passing, several of them asked...”the guy who smoked cigars and wore Robert Graham shirts...your plus 1?” He had an immediate impact and created friends with his big smile wherever we went.  I am so sad for the entire Blum Family. 

All my love,

Peter Bowen 

So Sorry to hear of Rik's Passing. He was a great paddle player and we were looking forward to our summer paddle league.  He will be missed. 

Hi Suzanne:

My heart is very saddened by learning of Rick's passing.  I used to see him at Whole Foods and Walgreen's which was a few weeks ago and he would say to your daughter this is mom's girlfriend Susan's mom. And she would remember me . I thought rick was a loving man, knew him as you did from high school. So i know this to be a great loss to all of you. You i know have wonderful memories of 20 years plus with Rick.  He always greeted me with kindness and caring. Hold the memories close to all of you. If you need me Suzanne please call me.   rick was special and so are you.

Love and caring, Judy Stern

I loved our lunches at Charlie Bienlichs ... we had great fun and passionate debates on all sorts of topics . Rick was truly unique, smart, loved his family dearly and had a great heart .

Steve and I are so very sorry to hear of Rick’s passing. We have lots of great memories over 15 years of working and playing together. 
Our trip to Nantucket was a wonderful highlight  and yes, he traveled with a cigar and truly enjoyed it overlooking Nantucket Sound. Another great memory was his wedding to Suzanne - he was so excited to be marry her and the day he found out she was pregnant was the biggest smile in our shared time together. After Rick left to start his own company he kept in touch and always called Steve every Christmas to share how grateful he was for Steve being a friend and mentor. We will miss him.  Randy Fifield

OBITUARIO

Rick Blum

6 abril, 1962 – 23 enero, 2019

Weinstein & Piser Funeral Home

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