Bob is right in calling Dick an "FSGW Institution." He was just ALWAYS there. He never missed a Getaway (though he usually stole away on Sunday afternoon to sit in his car and listen to the Redskins football game on the radio -- he and I would congratulate each other enthusiastically on the rare occasions they won...) or a Mini-Fest, or an Open Sing, or any other folkie event in the DC area.

He did miss the Open Sing last week, but he'd called the hostess to explain he wouldn't be there because he was in the hospital following surgery for an intestinal obstruction and seemed to be doing fine, so it's a real shock to hear of his passing. It's just hard to imagine him NOT being there.

We all put up with the off-key singing and the often out-of-tune guitar and the strange grating hurdy-gurdy and the screeching fiddle (I count myself fortunate to have missed the pipes...), because it was so obvious that Dick's love of the music and his knowledge of the history behind it was so great and so contagious.

Bob, thanks for posting the news and for the biographical information.

Bill, thanks for the picture.

Dick, thanks for your enthusiasm and your knowledge and your friendliness. We'll miss you.

Nancy