On Thursday, December 27, Rhode Island lost one of its brightest lights. I knew Richard Walton as one of Stone Soup Coffeehouse's stalwarts, but I also knew he was much more: an activist for peace and social justice, journalist (including a stint with Voice of America), author, professor, and father of two. I respected him and was always happy to go to after-concert dinners at a local pub (which has one of Richard's own Stone Soup baseball caps hanging on the wall) with him and other Stone Soupers. I was flabbergasted the first time he handed me (and many others) an invitation to his annual birthday party at his home on a cove in Rhode Island. The pot-luck open house party was really a fundraiser for Amos House (a homeless shelter) and Providence's sister city, Niquinohomo, Nicaragua. An amazing variety of people came to those parties, and many of my favorite musicians jammed together, providing music and songs for the rest of us to enjoy. I have not yet seen a real obituary. Saturday's Providence Journal had a front-page article about Richard, but I have not been able to access it online. Here is that newspaper's brief breaking news story from Friday. http://news.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/2012/12/rhode-island-fixture-richard-j-walton-dies-at-age-84ready.html
This one is from GoLocalProv. http://www.golocalprov.com/news/new-ri-college-mourns-loss-of-richard-walton/
But the best place to read about him is at Wikipedia. (I know, I know, it's Wikipedia, but I think this article is very accurate.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Walton

I often teased Richard about which of us was the first to go to Stone Soup. I think we both went to it soon after it moved to its first church location, but I was in the process of becoming a single parent and for years went rarely while he quickly got involved. I've been told that the first time he came to Stone Soup he was wearing a tuxedo. He'd been at a formal event but having heard of Stone Soup decided he would stop by to see what was going on there. However, he almost always wore bib overalls, a bandana, and a large floppy straw hat as he greeted audience members and, as a frequent host, introduced the performers. I know he also enjoyed jazz which he had listened to in many New York City venues.

For most of his life, Richard was active and full of energy. He chopped firewood and planted a large garden which included many tomato plants. At the end of other parties at his home in the late summer he would often offer bags so that guests could pick what they wanted. He always said that both his parents had lived long lives. He was not someone who routinely saw doctors, but a few years ago he had a painful bout of sciatica. Then, several months ago he realized that his energy was flagging. When he finally saw a doctor, he learned that he had a treatable form of leukemia. However, the treatments took their toll on him, and he was in and out of the hospital. Before I left for a trip last Sunday a mutual friend called to tell me Richard was back in the hospital. I thought the doctors would work out a level of treatment that would halt the progress of the disease without having such adverse side effects, but when I came home on Friday and logged onto Facebook I saw the many tributes mutual friends had posted.

I am looking forward to raising my glass to Richard the next time Stone Soupers gather at that pub.