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| Lynn and Richard |
Our friend Richard Bent passed away this year and today's blog is to honor his memory. I learned about Richard's passing over the holidays as we would primarily use letters and post cards to stay in touch (yes, old school, but it was great to get each other's letters).
Richard and I (Rob) met through work. He lived and worked in California with Northrop Grumman whom contracted with my government employer. Richard and I hit it off immediately. He was warm and funny. He was also easy-going and just a wonderful guy.
I got to meet him in person a couple of times when he flew to the East coast for work, and Tom and I both fondly remember an evening where we met him in Baltimore and went to dinner.
Over the years since his retirement, he kept quite active, volunteering for a museum, vacationing with his wife Lynn, and sons Will and Sam, and daughter in law, Cassie. They also have a dog named Reggie, whom Richard and I spoke about often (being a dog dad myself).
We always look forward to the family's holiday greeting because it is filled with adventures and always came with a letter from Richard. This year, the letter came from his wife, Lynn, breaking the sad news to us.
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| Richard and Lynn |
One of the privileges I also had was to tap Richard's interest in the paranormal. Being a medium since I was a kid, he shared some interesting experiences and told me about a haunted SS car in a museum. You can read it here:
A Presence Attached to Hitler's Car in a Museum (
https://ghostsandspiritsinsights.blogspot.com/2010/03/presence-attached-to-hitlers-car-in.html) . Some of the stories that Richard shared also appear in my first 2 books. He was always supportive and encouraging. Between he and his wonderful wife, Lynn, I can see why his sons turned out so well.
Although I know that Richard is always going to be around in spirit, it's always difficult to know that I won't hear his voice or receive a letter from him anymore. However, I treasure our connection with Lynn and the family and he will always speak through them, too. I'm sure Richard will give a sign that he's around, he loved his family more than anything else.
Below is the beautifully written obituary, so that you will get to know this amazing, wonderful friend of ours who has moved on.
Love, Rob and Tom
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| Richard |
Obituary for Richard Allen Bent
Richard
Allen Bent passed away suddenly from a heart attack on Saturday, March
17, 2018 while walking in the Laguna Niguel Regional Park, Laguna
Niguel, CA. Blessedly, his wife, Lynn, and sons, Samuel and William, and
daughter-in-law, Cassie, were with him at the time of his passing.
Born
to Ralph and Betty Bent of Compton, California on July 29th, 1952,
Richard’s name was inspired by "Little Ricky" from the "I Love Lucy"
show, and the family called their sweet baby boy "Ricky."
As
Ricky began to grow and thrive, he earned a new name, Happy Chappy,
given to him by his father, because he was always smiling and everyone
else who was ever near him would always smile back.
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| Richard at a NASA launch |
As a young
boy, he loved to play football and then baseball - he excelled at
whatever sport activity he took on. He was fun-loving and a bit
mischievous, just ask the cat who would hiss whenever Ricky would
squeeze his paw in just the right way. He enjoyed spending time with his
many friends from the neighborhood and from school.
He also did
well in his school studies and was accepted into San Diego State
University where he earned two Bachelor's degrees, one in anthropology
and the other in journalism.
His career path eventually took him
to TRW, later becoming Northrop Grumman, where he rose in the ranks to
become the manager of the Marketing Communications department. In this
position, he designed and supervised the construction of high-profile
and technologically sophisticated exhibits for the demonstration and
sale of Northrop Grumman's aerospace products.
It was also at TRW
where he met and later married his beautiful and beloved wife, Lynn. He
treasured his life with her and eventually they were blessed by the
birth of their first son, Sam, and a little over a year later by the
birth of their second son, Will - two darling and cherished boys.
Richard's
life had an abundance of experiences, both at work and at home. He
traveled the world, supervising his exhibit installations and acquiring a
wealth of knowledge about other places, cultures, and customs. When he
wasn’t busy traveling, he savored his time at home with Lynn, Sam and
Will, and the many dogs that shared life with them throughout the years.
He supported his sons' numerous and varied activities, including
coaching the sports teams they joined, guiding Will's Eagle Scout
project and taking the whole family on innumerable and memorable family
vacations. Whenever he could, he participated fully with his beloved
family.
Eventually, after many productive and successful years,
Richard retired from Northrop Grumman. He would miss the camaraderie he
had enjoyed with his many friends from work, but now a new chapter was
about to begin in his life.
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| Richard (center) and friends |
For the first time in years, he now
had the opportunity to pursue many of his personal interests, including
his special passion of railroad travel and advocacy. He was also a Sons
of the American Revolution Color Guard member and chapter president. He
mentored incoming college students at San Diego State, fundraised and
participated in half marathons and century bike rides for numerous
charities, learned the art of neon glass sign making, made videos using
his drone, and created an organic garden, with the help of his giant
puppy, Reggie, among other pursuits. His curiosity was boundless and his
life blossomed happily and pleasantly with all of the new avenues for
exploration and discovery that became available to him. At the same
time, he was also finally able to "relax and enjoy," as his dad used to
say, while engaging in all of these activities and spending precious
time with his family.
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| A younger Richard |
Richard is survived by his wife Lynn, sons
Samuel and William, daughter-in-law Cassie Bent, mother Betty Bent,
brothers Wayne and Daniel Bent, sisters Barbara Wills, Nancy Delaney and
Lenise Bent, nieces Alyssa Roduner, Renata Delaney, Renee Quinn, Sheila
Center, Susan Bent Haines and Cristiana Crews, and nephews Ian Delaney,
Jeff Bent and Rob Wills.
In Lieu of Flowers, please donate to the Nature Conservancy in Richard's name by visiting:
https://www.nature.org/membership-giving/more-ways-to-give/tribute-honor-giving/index.htm?intc=nature.tnav.give
Please
join us in remembering Richard. Through this site, we invite you to
share your thoughts and fond memories with our family.
This week's idiot of the week actually includes a LOT of idiots. In three states, during the week of 
