Ewing’s Sarcoma Raresearch Initiative
In Memoriam of
Don Richwine
Ewing’s sarcoma is a type of cancer that forms in bone or soft tissue. Symptoms may include swelling and pain at the site of the tumor, fever, and a bone fracture. The most common areas where it begins are the legs, pelvis, and chest wall. In about 25% of cases, the cancer has already spread to other parts of the body at the time of diagnosis. Complications may include a pleural effusion or paraplegia. The cause of Ewing's sarcoma is unknown.
Your kind donation is 100% Tax deductible & will go towards the Ewing’s Sarcoma Raresearch Initiative.
To know Don was to know that he was an honest man,
of high integrity,
a self-starter,
hard working and
resilient
He had a lot of fun but always did what was right and never took shortcuts. You know this because of the company he kept and the respect we all have for him.
He was always ready to get started and never needed a push to get to work. I remember being at the house at Christmas time a while ago and he sat in his office making calls to sales managers for hours talking to them about where they were in the rankings and what they needed to do to win the next incentive trip. And to Don this wasn’t work because of the people he worked with – he wanted everyone to succeed.
Don was the definition of resilience. During his five years of battling cancer no matter what happened or how difficult the news, he would always find a way to stay positive and go back to caring for his family. The family dog, Sammy, was a great comfort to Don. And, he loved her so much. She would always lay with him when he was resting. He also grew to love Emily’s bunny Earl, and built her a huge addition to her bunny house as a Christmas gift last year.
We would all like to believe we could handle the stress Don was under with the same disposition and grace that he exhibited.
Most importantly, Don was a Loving and Caring person. He wanted the best life and future for Cindy, Caitlyn and Emily. Even while he was in the middle of his treatments, Don and Cindy were providing emotional support to their friend Jennifer Kirchman who was battling the same rare cancer as Don. She lost her battle earlier this year in January, and we would also like to honor her memory today. Jennifer was a terrific friend to Don, and they supported each other thru their battle.
Don was a truly exceptional person and I will miss him for the rest of my life.
Don was the kind of person you hope is your son, your brother, your friend, your husband or your dad.
Caitlyn and Emily, you were everything to your Dad.
“Enjoy the Ride”
-Don Richwine
Don Richwine was an incredible person. He was a loving husband, father, friend, son, brother, uncle, cousin and nephew. He was truly loved by many. Don connected with people because he truly cared about them.
Don was born to Linda and Warren Richwine on March 17, 1972, in Portland, Oregon. He lived most of his childhood in Portland, with the exception of one year in Montana which he loved to tell people all about his adventures there.
He was the youngest child and had three older sisters (Teresa, Tammi and Trudi) and was, no doubt, the perfectly behaved little brother. He had a dog named Pepper, who he loved dearly, and he was always telling people about what a well-behaved dog she was, how she never left the yard and how he would sprinkle her dog food in the grass, so she could graze on it.
From the time he was little, he loved a good road trip. The favorite being the family summer trips to Flathead Lake. And, when he was older, trips to Montana to see aunts and uncles and grandparents before they passed.
He loved to take his Grandpa’s fishing boat out and he was always told, “do not go out-of-sight around the point,” which, of course, he always did.
He was always playing football, whiffle ball or basketball in the backyard with the neighborhood boys and Don kept track of all the stats from the games.
If he wasn’t outside, he would be playing with Legos or gaming on his Atari and he even had a whole LEGO village constructed in a bedroom upstairs.
Don was 13 when his father, Warren, passed away at age 46. His dad was his idol whom he loved spending time with. He loved him so much and would often speak about the fact that he was sad that his dad had missed out on so much. in life. They would work on cars together and Don learned so much from him. Sodas were not something that were typically allowed at home, but his Dad would take Don out for a ride in the car and get him a Pepsi and would say, “Don’t tell mom!”. After his father died, Don took over caring for the yard. They had a 1/2-acre yard, so it was a lot to mow and he took it very seriously. He always loved keeping a beautiful yard. Don took a lot of pride in his work. Don also stepped up and helped his mom with things around the house. Over the years he taught himself how to fix just about anything. After moving away from home, he would always help his mom out with projects around the house when he came home to visit, even as recently as a few months ago. He loved his mother so much. He would have done anything for her.
Don was hard working from a young age. He started a lawn mowing business and recycled paper to earn extra money. He worked his way through college at Western Oregon doing construction and other various jobs. He obtained a degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in Business and planned on being a police officer. But, life took him in a different direction and he became a fantastic sales person. But still, he liked to regale Cindy with constant commentary when they were driving places about how to drive and how he would handle various driving situations if he were a cop. And, while his alma mater was the Western Oregon Wolves, he was a huge fan of the Oregon Ducks.
After college, he moved to Juneau, Alaska and worked as a liquor distributor. While he enjoyed the time there and the time spent living with his friend Ricky, after about a year, he was ready to get back to the lower 48. However, being the financially savvy guy, he was, he wasn’t going to quit his job and move back until all his bills were paid up and he had enough money to get home. After returning to Portland, he took a huge road trip across the United States to begin one of his life goals, which was to visit every state in the United States. He accomplished this feat just a few years ago.
He joined Subaru of America in February of 2000, worked his way up to District Manager and enjoyed an amazing 18-year career with the company. He was one of their top employees and won many Salesman of the Year awards. That high honor was awarded with a huge trip every year and he and Cindy went to so many incredible places because of Subaru and his hard work. They visited Mexico, Captiva Island, St. Kitts, Aruba, and the Bahamas just to name a few. They also went on many fun trips to Vegas with Subaru. Don enjoyed gambling from time to time and was great at blackjack. But, he always knew when to walk away. He was not one to throw money down the drain.
Subaru transferred Don to Roseville and he met Cindy in 2001, when they were literally next-door-neighbors. They married on October 18, 2003. Less than a year later, Subaru transferred Don to Spokane, WA. Don and Cindy bought a house on Liberty Lake and spent about two and a half years enjoying lake living. They had their boat parked out back and would take nightly cruises around the lake in the summer. They met a fantastic group of friends there who welcomed them to the community with open arms. It was in Liberty Lake that Don found his passion for mountain bike riding with his friend Heath, and then then got Cindy started with it, too.
They came back to California just before their two beautiful daughters, Emily and Caitlyn, were born in May 2007. There aren’t enough words to describe how much love Don had for his wife and daughters. He wasn’t much for getting a babysitter. He always wanted the girls to come along on nights out, trips and other adventures. He was always telling people about Caitlyn and Emily’s sports activities and theater performances. And, in a recent conversation, Don told me, “Cindy is amazing. She has done so much to take care of me. I don’t think our family or friends realize how much she does or what she’s been thru. I don’t think I would have lived this long without her.”
When the girls were born, they started an annual tradition of going to Sunriver, OR, a place Don enjoyed going as a child. He loved Sunriver for the mountain bike riding, spending time in the great outdoors and, of course, the breweries! As the girls grew older, it was so fun to ride bikes thru the miles of trails in Sunriver. He would take them out for an evening bike ride to search for frogs, watch airplanes take off and land, see the horses get corralled at the end of the day or go for some ice cream and bumper cars at the village mall.
Don loved to travel. Over the years, trips to Maui, Disneyland, Huntington Beach, Palm Desert and San Diego became family traditions.
Don would also go to Portland frequently to visit family, high school friends and his extended Subaru family. He loved spending time with his mom, sisters, nieces and nephews and educating the nieces and nephews on finances and life in general. He had an amazing group of friends from high school who he loved so much, and he had plenty of stories to tell about his high school shenanigans.
Don loved to drive. If Don was in the car, Don was driving. If he wasn’t the one driving, he was probably slightly annoyed. And, he was a fantastic driver. He drove thousands and thousands of miles over his lifetime.
When Don was diagnosed with cancer, it was a complete shock. Don was such a strong, athletic, healthy guy, both physically and mentally. He fought hard for 5 years. He wanted to live. He went thru 44 rounds of multi day chemo plus radiation. He was a true warrior. He went thru a lot.
Don always dreamed of going back to work at Subaru.
And, without question, he loved all sports. His favorite football team was the Pittsburg Steelers and his favorite basketball team was the Portland Blazers. He loved to watch sports and he loved to play sports. He was an excellent golfer. And, he especially loved playing basketball with the guys at his gym.
And as we all know, Don always had a joke at the ready. He never forgot the punchline. He loved to tell funny stories.