Rick was my nephew by marriage. I remember him as a sincere kid who didn't have the greatest role model but who overcame that to become a fine man. He was a small boy when I married into the McKenzie family, and I had the opportunity to watch him grow into manhood. He had a great mom! I remember the motorcycle accident and his struggle to heal. His courage and perseverence in recovery said a lot about him as a person.

I remember when his aunt Jean and I were living in Tallahassee, Florida, and they came for a visit. I had talked about the camel we kept out back. Don't know how the story started, but Rick and his sister, Chris, wanted to see the camel. Well, of course, someone had stolen the camel. Not sure they every forgave me for that.

I remember well the dismay I had over learning Rick had kidney cancer. I am a cancer researcher myself in the area of genitourinary tract cancers, which includes kidney cancer. By all rights, he should have survived because he lacked most of the risk factors for advanced cancer, but then later it re-emerged later. Sometimes the deck is stacked against you for reasons we just do not understand. Being the strong and loving man he was, Rick fought a valliant fight, to stay around for his family. I tried to get him into a new clinical trial that I learned about at the cancer research meetings, to no avail. I was glad to learn that the end came peacefully. So often it does not, and Rick deserved peace. So rest in peace, Nephew. My life was better for having known you.