I inform you all that our common friend Riccardo died today.

No words to add..so sad sorry.

Rest in peace, Riccardo

His beautiful voice will be always in our hearts:

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OMG...I am devastated to hear this.  What a shock.  Do you have any details Zaira?  Is there anywhere to send a condolance card etc?

What a super great guy.   :'(

Sad news, indeed.   :'(

Our friend Ricky hasn't posted here for years but many of us knew and loved him. Some had even meet him.  He was a CH activist, if you will, and worked very hard in several organizations as a sufferer and dedicated supporter of his CH friends around the world.

He was one of us.  He was one of you.

Our deepest sympathies to his family.

Most Sincerely,
Jackie

I'd read many of his old posts in the archives years ago.

Although I'd never met him, my heart still aches at this news.

:'(

This is very sad.  PF at last, God rest his soul.

omg :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(



what happened??? :(

OMG this can't be real.....

:'( :'( :'( :'( :'(

:'( :'( :'( :'(  Noooooooo.  

We have lost one of the gentlest and kindest souls.  

So sorry to hear this, Zaira - our condolences to all who knew and loved Riccardo like we all did.  :(

Although I never met him... I'm sure a ripple that he caused has in somehow affected my life in a positive way.

Thank you Riccardo for your kindness and selflessness... may the eternity before you bring you peace, and happiness.

with warm regards,
Tony

The man was a class act. Damn. :'(

Joe

So sad to hear of the passing of Rick~ He was a very sweet man... I remember back to the time when Zaira was in a coma and he was so concerned about her... I can only imagine her heart is broken by this sad news... I would like to know the details of this sad sad event..

love ree

Z I am so sorry for your loss honey

I'll keep you informed as soon as possible. We heard about this sad news by his girlfriend Natascia, she's from Russia and she doesn't speak Italian or English. So for us it's impossible right now to know what's happen to our dear friend Riccardo. Sorry I can't express myself better because I feel really bad.
Zaira :'(

Hugs and love to you, Z - we share your pain today, my friend.

Zazi, it's OK. [smiley=hug.gif]

This just all seems so hard to come to terms with.  I can still picture him in Vancouver at the hotel giving me greetings in the morning while we were having breakfast.

I also think of the times he'd call out of the blue just to say hello and see how I and my family were doing.

I'm going to miss him real bad.

my love to all who's heart is torn right now. :'(

hugs to you too, Mel.  I was just looking at his pics from Vancouver and can still see him having so much fun there with Pierra, Davide and Stefan.  I still have that CD he gave out too.  

This is such a shock, he was still a young man!  

Zaira,

I'm sad to hear this.... :'(

RIP, Riccardo.

Sanna

He will be missed :'(

Paul

I remember in Atlanta how when he accepted his plaque, he got down on one knee to do it so people could see, lol.

I think Jonny has the link to the video on his website??

So very sorry to read of his passing. He will be missed.

Jackie just called and told me. It is really sad. Riccardo was a great guy. Funny that man could make me laugh. I can still hear him laughing, he had a beautiful laugh.  I remember when he came to Atlanta at the convention and we invited him to our house for dinner. We were all sitting around the table and my cat walked into the room, this cat was big. Riccardo looked at the cat then back at us and said " Do you eat cat?" We laughed and told him no LOL. I also remember some great support he gave me and so many wonderful things he did here for us all.
Our lost but heavens gain...he will be singing in their choir there. He will never have another cluster !

Miss ya my friend.  :'(

Rest in peace My Friend.

Riccardo and D.J. in Atlanta
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[quote author=715C4D5C505150595C525D41350 link=1233167821/19#19 date=1233175019] He will never have another cluster ![/quote]
Thank God. :'(

Wow.
Am in shock and sad.
I have his cd too and he did have a wonderful voice.
I remember I asked him for the words to the songs on the cd.
The songs were in english but you couldn't understand them.
So I have the lyrics too.

Riccardo will be so missed :(
Mast

That's just not right!  >:(

Rest in peace, Ricky.  :'(

Here ya go, Mel, ricky is at 2:30 mark.

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:-[

Deepest sympathies to all who knew him. Though I did not, he left a legacy of happiness.

Joy in Heaven, Riccardo.

Just got this email from OUCH Italia and have used one of those online translators.  I'm sure you get the gist of the sadness though...   :'(

Today it is reached on the forum a news that we would not have never intentional to have to you to communicate but unfortunately our Riccardo has left us, perlomeno for this life terrena.
To hard work we find the words, but we believe that words to say us are not any. .è and rimarra always part of our association that it has strongly intentional and of has been one of the main founders.
The Staff di Grappolaiuto.it.

(the original text in Italian for those of you that can read it).

Oggi è giunta sul forum una notizia che non avremmo mai voluto dovervi comunicare ma purtroppo il nostro Riccardo ci ha lasciato, perlomeno per questa vita terrena.
A fatica troviamo le parole , ma crediamo che parole da dire non ce ne siano..è e rimarra sempre parte della nostra associazione che ha fortemente voluto e ne è stato uno dei principali fondatori.

Lo Staff di Grappolaiuto.it.

This is truly sad news. He will be sorely missed by so many us who's life he touched.

Marc

wrote on Jan 28^th, 2009 at 4:41pm:

Here ya go, Mel, ricky is at 2:30 mark. START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE

Thank you Jonny.  I am so glad there is some movie to see his warm, happy and sweet face again.  It helps, if only a little.

He did have a wonderful voice and I got one of those CDs also.

Margi do you remember when we playing golf and Riccardo hit one "out of the park"  so to speak and BobP had to go make amends to those guys on the driving range because he'd never played golf before and didn't yell FORE?  I thought we were in for a international crisis for a while there.

I have never heard anyone fracture the English language better than him.  He was hilarious and he was humble and sweet all at the same time.  Man.....what a loss.   :'(

I am so sorry to hear the sad news Zaira.

My condolences to his family and friends :'(

Although I never met him I have spoken to him on several occasions and he was a delightful man.  He will be missed by many.

Some how the sadness of today just keeps compounding.

-P.

Yep, Linda - I sure do remember that.  He really smoked it, didn't he?  (kinda like our "caddy")  :)  He was just having fun and it was so cool to watch him enjoying every minute of that weekend (like we all did).  Good thing Bob was there as our diplomat or it could very well have escalated!  

When I think of Riccardo, I smile.  He would always send "kisses across the miles".....a  kissing bandit.

The news of his death will hurt for a long time.  :'(

We have lost a good friend but we all now have one heck of a guardian angel named Riccardo.

Ciao, Riccardo.  We miss you.

What a shock.  We all lost a wonderful person today.

How very sad.  Condolences to his friends and family. :'(


Carol

RIP Riccardo.
Our condolences to all who knew and loved Riccardo.
:'(

:(

Aw shit. There was a nice guy.

Sucks.

Charlie

I'm really sorry to hear about this.

I never met him, but several people here have told me of his kindness, friendliness, and gentle nature.  I wish I'd known him.

My condolences to those who had the honor to meet him, and to his family and friends.

Best wishes,

George

:'( :'( :'( :'(

RIP my dear friend. Now heaven has all the "garlic" kisses. I'll miss you.

stunned at this sad news.  I remember him at the OUCH UK conference in 2003 and my abiding memory of Riccardo is his flamboyant taste in braces (suspenders) and hats.  He was a lovely man and will be much missed in the worldwide OUCH community.

Zaira, you must be bereft, he was very special to you I know.  

Ciaio Riccardo.

Val.  :'(

This is a sad day indeed.
Rest in peace Riccardo
:'( :'( :'( :'(

This is very sad news indeed.  :'( :'(

I remember when I first came here and was having a very hard time. One night the phone rang and I could not understand much of who was on the other line and had no idea who it was. It turns out it was Riccardo and we talked for quite a long time.

I might not have understand everything that he said but I could feel the love and care that he had and it meant the world to me that he called.

It is a very sad day that he has passed, I have thought of him often and will continue to do so. My heart goes out to everyone who was touched by this great man - we are all blessed that we talked to you or even met him.

Jill

It's nice to see how many friends he has...

:'(

Unfortunately it happened in Bielorussia where he lived for the past 4/5 years.
His lady can't speak Italian or English, so the only thing we know is that he passed away (not even know when exactly)
Anyway she managed to say that she will call us again together with a translator for mor details.

We (a group of us) met him about one month ago in Italy, he was here to get drugs for his illness "with no exit way"... he has had a kidney surgery a couple of years ago... but it has not been enough.  :-[

Even if he was pale and had lost lot of weight, he was as usual joking and made us laughing....
We knew how bad the perpective was... but he never lost his humorism and peace..
He was as a brother/father  for me and for many other friends he left. OUCH-Italia and all worldwide cluster friends will never forget this man.

CIAO RICCARDO

I did not know Ricardo at all. After reading everyone's posts I can tell he was a very gentel wonderful person that meant very much to you. My condolences to the cluster family in the loss of your friend.

Charlotte

Rest in peace Bro :'(

I am truely saddened.

I remember the 1st convention in Las Vegas.  Walking through the lobby our eyes met and there were instant smiles of recognition although we had never met.  My first hug from the big fella.

Those boys on the driving range were spoiling for a fight.  We really should have taught the Italian bunch about the use of "fore".

God bless you my friend.

ZAZI AND lUCIANO.........and so many more who had the chance to meet Riccardo.....must be soo bereft. I only knew him online, but his full-of-life spirit, his tender unassuming style transcended barriers.
I remember how he kept us apprised of Zazi's health when she was so ill.
Riccardo, you will be missed..........my sympathy to your family, and extended family.
Zazi and Luciano, hugs and sympathy to you both.

Cathi(aka"Mum")

THis is very sad news - Riccardo was such a sweet, kind man.  I remember his posts about his travels to and from Las Vegas, Atlanta and Vancouver - they were hilarious - he certainly had a way with words - even in English!  He will certainly be missed.

:'( This is so sad..
I'm so sorry that you had to break the news Zazi.

Luc, I know he was a dear friend to you as well, and to many, a wonderful down to earth person.  I knew him on the board and email, and via OUCH Italia, but never had the pleasure of meeting him.  This is a great loss.

My condolences alla famiglia OUCH Italia, and his family and friends.

Pepp  

Our deepest condolences to his family and this family. I did not know him but I can see by the outpouring of love from all of you he was a very special person.

RIP Riccardo, my CH brother. :'( :'(

With deepest condolences from my family to yours :'(

Andrea

OMG!  I just cant believe this.  He will be so missed.  I remember all the kind words and smiles and kisses he had.  I had the pleassure of meeting him twice in person.  I also talked to him via phone a few times.  I am just so glad he is no longer in pain.  May he rest in peace.

Margi wrote on Jan 28^th, 2009 at 5:39pm:

Just got this email from OUCH Italia and have used one of those online translators.  I'm sure you get the gist of the sadness though...   :'( Today it is reached on the forum a news that we would not have never intentional to have to you to communicate but unfortunately our Riccardo has left us, perlomeno for this life terrena. To hard work we find the words, but we believe that words to say us are not any. .è and rimarra always part of our association that it has strongly intentional and of has been one of the main founders. The Staff di Grappolaiuto.it. (the original text in Italian for those of you that can read it). Oggi è giunta sul forum una notizia che non avremmo mai voluto dovervi comunicare ma purtroppo il nostro Riccardo ci ha lasciato, perlomeno per questa vita terrena. A fatica troviamo le parole , ma crediamo che parole da dire non ce ne siano..è e rimarra sempre parte della nostra associazione che ha fortemente voluto e ne è stato uno dei principali fondatori. Lo Staff di Grappolaiuto.it.

My good friend, Giuliano, in Italy, was just chatting with me, via skype.  We got to talking about Riccardo.  I sent him the original, and this is his translation (very similar to Margi's translation):

Quote:

Today the forum has been reached by news no one would have been willing to release, but unlucky our Riccardo left us, at least, for this earth life. Toughly we found the words even though we do believe there're no words to issue.  Riccardo is and will forever be part of our team whom he was one of the main founders.

The world has lost a wonderful man, and heaven has gained by our loss.

So sad!

Chuck

PS:  Thank you Margi for passing that on, and you did a great job in your translation!  KUDOS!

Dear all,

some of you will remember when we met in Vancouver.

I apologize if I've never been in contact with you all again, delegating for this our dear friends Zazi and Luciano, but it's just because of my nature of north-italian old wolf.

I'm one of the first who got this sad new and I'm still trying to digest it.

I tried to talk with Riccardo's girlfriend Natascia but, as Zazi already said, she's speaks almost only russian, and it's not a language I'm very familiar with.

I only understood that my beloved Gentle Grizzly had died and this was (and till is) enough to me to get into a deep sadness.

We met Ricky about 1 month ago in Turin, where he was trying to find a therapy to fight the cancer that was "eating" him.

It was already clear to him that he had not much time to live.
6 months to 1 or 2 years max, he said in his usual courageous-cynical-joking way.

But life goes differently...  

And today the world is a poorer place without him around. :'(

I'm trying to find an interpreter to communicate with Natascia and get some more info. If I succeed I will let you know.

Hugs to you all my dear Brothers/Sisters-in-pain


Ricky... Let's sing the last song together...
In the cold wind of this endless human night.

Alter Bridge - In Loving Memory
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:'(

Sten [smiley=hug.gif]

Hugs to you from Canada too, Sten.  You were a good friend to him.

Thanks for letting us know what took our Garlic Kissing Bandit.  

:'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(

May you reap the rewards and blessings you gave to everyone with "Truckloads of Kisses" and your sufferings be no more.

My thoughts are with his family and closest friends.

Peace,
Carl_D

I am so sorry I am late, and 1000 times more sorry about the news.

I have many happy memories and many emails reminding me of the sweet nature of Riccardo (and Zazi too- Zazi I am so sorry for your personal loss)


Riccardo was a gent. He helped people and was kind.

More than most of us can say.

Godspeed Ricci

A very sad Wendy

Dear all,
I came in tonight to search for the post about Ric... the kissing bandit... I was so curious to know what took this sweet young man.  Did anyone know that he had cancer?  I am now hoping that of all the people that don't post here, that all are well.  

Thanks to those from Italy that tried to get the point accross to us...
We love you all and Zazi... I am so sorry again, friend.  We love you and know that he was your good friend.

love to you all
Stay healthy
Ree

Jackie wrote on Jan 28^th, 2009 at 3:39pm:

Riccardo and D.J. in Atlanta

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My heart hurts.  Riccardo was my boy.

:'(