Charlottesville Progress
- The Daily Progress (Charlottesville, VA)
Saturday, February 5, 2011 - The
Daily Progress - Obituary
Newspaper Link
Richard Stephen Callaghan Jr.
Richard Stephen Callaghan Jr. died on Friday, January 28, 2011, (Age 85 + 6 months) in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, with his wife and two daughters by his side.
He was born on July 31, 1935, in Brooklyn, New York, the son of the late Richard S. Callaghan Sr. and Betsy Smith Callaghan.
He is survived by his wife, Mary Lynn Callaghan; his two daughters, Susan C. Beaty and her husband, Scott, of Reston, Virginia, Jennifer C. Story and her
husband, Danny, of Stanardsville, Virginia; three grandchildren whom he
cherished greatly, Samantha C. Ulrope, Betsy K. Ulrope, and Ryan C. Ferguson;
one great-granddaughter, Savannah Leigh Lam; brothers, David S. Callaghan and
his wife, Gerry, Robert M. Callaghan and his wife, Elaine; one sister, Betsy
Kingsbury and her husband, Mike, all of Charlottesville, Virginia; nine nieces
and nephews and their families and numerous cousins; mother and father-in-law,
Daryl and Jean Warren; sister-in-law, Margaret Kirk and her family; and his
very best pal, Wiswell, the cat.
Rick grew up in Garden City, New York, with wonderful memories and stores of
his childhood. He graduated from the University of Virginia receiving his
undergraduate and law degrees. He practiced on Wall Street before deciding to
raise his family in Charlottesville, Virginia.
He made partner for the law firm of Taylor, Michie and Callaghan as well as
having his own private practice with his wife working by his side.
He served as an assistant lecturer at the University Law School. He was
president of the Charlottesville-Albemarle Legal Aid Society, President of the
Janie Porter Barrette Day Care Nursery, and director of the local chapters of
the Red Cross and the American Cancer Society. He was appointed to the
electoral board for the Republican Party as well as holding office in numerous
charities and organizations.
Rick was an international chess master as well as qualified Olympic chess
player. He also had the passion for the game of checkers and was recognized
for being a champion.
He retired from Law at the age of 62 and spent his time tutoring chess to many
children and adults. His love and passion for the game touched many lives.
He moved to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, with his wife, Mary Lynn, in 2000, where
they enjoyed the West and many adventures. He continued playing in chess
tournaments up until his untimely death.
We are honored to have had him be part of all of our lives. We will sorely
miss him.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Rick's honor to
Northwest Parkinson's Foundation, 400 Mercer Street, Suite 504, Seattle, WA
98109-4641.
A celebration of life in Charlottesville, Virginia, will be announced at a
later date.
Published in the Daily Progress from February 5 to February 6, 2011
Rick was a chess master and the past presidents of the Virginia Chess Federation,
who only played chess back in the
60-70's when he lived in Charlottesville, VA. He later took up checkers in
addition to chess in the mid 70's and
enjoyed playing tournament checkers. Les Balderson gets a lot of credit for
recruiting, inviting players to join ACF and Old Dominion Checker Association,
and play in tournaments. Rick took an interest in checker and become a
life-time member of ACF and Old Dominion Checker Association. NCCA website has Rich
playing NC State Opens,
Southeasterns, and many Nationals from 1976 through 2005.
Rick played in the
1976 3-Move National held in Sanford, NC. Rick won the minors in
1981 Southern States and Majors in 1983. He tied Raleigh
Johnson as Majors Co-Champions in the
1997 NC State Open. Rick won
the GAYP Minors Championship at the
2001 Nationals. He played every
National from
2001 through
2005. He retired and
moved to Idaho in 2000 as noted in his obituary. Parkinson's disease made it difficult for Rick to play checkers on
the internet in the last
few years of his live. I understand his good friend Wayne Gober acquired
his checker library.
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