Phillip "Richie" Richard Tallent

Phillip Richard “Richie” Tallent, 61, of Lexington, SC passed away on January 4, 2022. He was born in Norfolk, Virginia on July 30, 1960. Mr. Tallent was the son of late Claude Roger Tallent and Oma Lee Tallent.

Richie had over 38 years of umpiring experience and training. He started his umpiring career in 1983 and then attended the Harry Wendelstedt Umpire School in 1984. He umpired for two years in the Minor League system and then moved on to college baseball. With over 36 years in college baseball, his knowledge and experience was extensive. He worked in many conferences: the South Eastern Conference (SEC) for 25 years, the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) for 19 years, the Southern Conference (SoCon) for 15 years, the Big South Conference for 15 years and the American Athletic Conference (AAC) for two years.

Richie also umpired NCAA Regionals at both the Division I and Division II Levels, and he umpired the NCAA Division II World Series.

It would be an understatement to say that he didn’t have an impressive run at umpiring. Richie loved umpiring and he really looked forward to the season every year. Funny thing with Richie was that he loved the nicknames everyone had… his was “the horror show” and he was proud of that… umpiring was a brotherhood for Richie and he was passionate about developing each and every umpire.

Richie was the owner of Richie Lounge and co-owner with his parents’ business, Vella’s Restaurant in Cayce, South Carolina, for over 19 years. Later he became an insurance sales agent, which he was currently working part time.

He is survived by his wife of 29 years, Julie “Deana” Tallent of Lexington, SC; sons, Richard Chase Tallent (Ella) of Lexington, SC, Phillip Kyle Tallent of Lexington, SC; daughter, Madison Lee Tallent of Lexington, SC; brother, James Roger Tallent of Pinopolis, SC; nephews, James Cory Tallent (Shannon) of Lexington, SC, Thomas Alexander Tallent (Melissa) of Summerville, SC.

Visitation will be held from 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. on Friday, January 7, 2022 with service following at 11:00 a.m. at Caughman-Harman Funeral Home, Lexington Chapel, 503 North Lake Drive, Lexington, SC 29072. The service will be livestreamed through our Facebook page, Lexington: Facebook.com/LexingtonChapel.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you please donate to the American Cancer Society at www.cancer.org.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.caughmanlexington.com for the Tallent family.