Richard “Rick” Gene Haney passed away on the morning of Monday, August 4th, 2014, after a two year battle with cancer. He was being visited and comforted at Virginia Mason Hospital by his family and friends. He is survived by his sister Kathy Akers (née Haney), and his mother Rose Robert. 

Rick Haney was born in Spokane Washington on November 28th, 1956. He was the first child and only son of Rose Robert and Wesley Richard Haney. Rose and Wesley moved to Seattle, Washington during Rick's childhood, and Rick would remain in Seattle for most of his adult life. He loved this city, and enjoyed living on Queen Anne for almost ten years. 

Rick was legally blind and suffered from a genetic form of blindness known as Retinitis Pigmentosa. He never wanted to be seen as a “disabled” person, but the fact is, the grace and courage with which he dealt with his blindness defined him and made him an inspiration to everyone who got to know him. Retinitis Pigmentosa is a degenerative disease, so in his youth he had a fair amount of vision, but towards the end of his life his sight was extremely limited. Towards the end of his life, his declining vision caused him many difficult challenges. However, all who met him were touched by his positive attitude and generosity of spirit, in spite of his troubles. 

Throughout his life, Rick was a passionate music lover and avid collector of vinyl record albums. His love of music began in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when he began purchasing his first albums. He subjected his parents to the likes of Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles and Johnny Cash. In the 1980s, Rick began working at Mt. Olympus Records in Seattle, and also helped run a mail-order record business. Rick had an almost encyclopedic knowledge of music, and could remember the release dates, cover art, and track listings of hundreds if not thousands of records. At one point, he had thousands of rare records in his collection! His favorite genres of music were Folk, Progressive and Psychedelic Rock. Through music, he made many friends worldwide, and he valued these connections dearly. His deepest friendships were with other music lovers and he treasured the time spent having deep conversations about “Life, the Universe and Everything”, while listening to records. 

In his early life, Rick married his high school sweetheart Melody Dawson. They spent over 20 happy years together. In his late 40s, Melody and Rick got divorced. With the loss of his partner, Rick quickly adjusted to living alone and using adaptive technology to navigate his life. He reluctantly started using a white cane. He also obtained special software so he could use a computer, and sought help at the Department of Services for the Blind to get training so he could adjust to life with less vision. True to form, he was able to change his life dramatically in a short amount of time and was amazing at using the computer, or navigating around town with his white cane. 

Rick's unwavering spirit was truest in the last 10 years of his life. Even as his vision declined, he took on new adventures and set goals for himself. In his late 40s, Rick decided that the best way to improve his situation was to go back to college to finish his undergraduate degree, so that he could find meaningful work.

Richard was accepted to the prestigious University of Washington in Seattle. He majored in Communications, which was perfect for him because he loved interacting with people. Rick graduated with Honors from the UW, with a Bachelor's degree in Communications. During his time at UW, Richard did an internship with Prof. John Gastil. Rick's research was included in Prof. Gastil's published book,”The Group in Society.” After graduation, Rick worked at the Social Security Administration, and Amazon, of which he was very proud. 

Never one to let his vision keeping him from loving life,  Richard did some traveling in his last years, and fulfilled his lifelong dream of leaving the country. He went on some adventures with his friend Kenya and they traveled to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Portland (and all over Oregon), and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.   

Richard was known to all who met him as a funny, intelligent, kind, curious, wise man, who was the best listener. When people said he was “a good listener”,  I think they meant that when they spoke to him they felt truly heard. He cared about people, and tried to acknowledge each person he met as being special in some way. He had a rare gift of encouraging people to follow their dreams, and to believe in themselves. Towards the end of his life, he said, “the only thing that matters in our lives is our relationships with the people we love.” He loved his friends and family whole-heartedly, and he will forever be in our minds and hearts. 

There will be a joyful celebration of his Rick's life taking place at The Paramount Theatre in Seattle, on Sunday, September 7th from 6 to 8p.m. Anyone who knew Richard is welcome to attend, but please R.S.V.P by sending a message to Kenya at RichardHaneyMemorial@yahoo.com with any questions. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations be made towards the memorial.