I don't usually offer up Absent Friends posts for people that I know on a personal basis. There are exceptions to that rule, and today I present one of them, my friend Rich Morgan who passed away earlier this week at the age of 76.
I got to know Rich 10 or so years ago through his cousin and my pal, David Cicotello. David introduced Rich to the Pirate Chat Facebook group, and away we went. At that same time, Rich had a retirement job in Guest Services at PNC Park, and Marilyn and I would often make it point to look him up at his post manning the elevator along the first base side of the park.
Over the years, I came to learn that Rich was a US Navy veteran (I believe that he served in the Viet Nam War), an avid golfer, and a huge soccer fan, particularly of Liverpool in the English Premier League.
Perhaps the most remarkable and admirable part of the Rich Morgan Story was the fact that he was the recipient of a kidney transplant over twenty-five years ago. He then became a tireless advocate for organ donation. For several years, he hosted a golf outing to raise money for Pittsburgh Team Transplant, an organization for whom he competed in the National Transplant Olympics. I am proud to say that I played in his outing three times over the years. I also got to tee it up with him several times over the years when David was in town.
In recent years, Rich battled cancer, undergoing several operations and courses of treatment. When in 2017 it was discovered that Marilyn had cancer, Rich was a constant source of inspiration and comfort to us both, always ending his messages to us wth his inimitable phrase, "Fuck cancer!" He paid his respects to me at the funeral home when Marilyn died in 2021 and offered that exact sentiment to me. It was a great comfort at the time.
He could also be a cantankerous curmudgeon at times, but who doesn't love a cantankerous curmudgeon?. I remember when I wrote all about our trip to Great Britain in 2019. Included in that write up was mention of our stop to see Stonehenge during the course of our nine day trip. Rich chose to respond to that write up by focusing on only one part of the story. He said "Stonehenge has to be the biggest and most over-rated tourist trap in the world. What a waste of time and money to go here." That may not be an exact quote, but it's pretty close. At first I thought, well, gee, thanks a lot for that, Rich, but in the end, I laughed it off, and it became a source of kidding between us.
In the end, it was the cancer that ended Rich's time with all of us. I last saw him on July 16 at PNC Park. David was in town and Rich and Lorraine joined Andy Terrick, David, Linda, and me at the Pirates-Giants game. I am so, so glad that we were able to do that. Physically, you could tell that Rich was not doing well, but he was the same old Rich, emphatically stating several times throughout the game that Henry Davis "is NOT a right fielder for the love of Mike!" Also evident that day, was the loving and supportive relationship that he and Lorraine had right up to the very end.
I will close this tribute in a way that Rich would surely approve. First, if you are not already signed up to be an organ donor, do so today. Not tomorrow, but today. And secondly, Fuck Cancer.
RIP Rich Morgan
YNWA
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