Richard Comisky

Richard "Steven" Comisky, 58 years old, died on May 10, 2009 in Houston, Texas. Richard had only recently discovered that he had liver cancer and in three short months he succumbed to its ravages. Richard was born in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, September 14, 1950 to a career U.S. Army father, Richard, and ever loving mother Joyce. He lived in the Fort Bragg-Fayetteville area until 1969. He attended Seventy First High School from 1964 until 1967 and a large part of his heart remained inFayetteville with his friends and classmates. In 1969 the family moved to Port Arthur, TX where things were distinctly different from Fayetteville, NC. Initially Richard had a difficult time adjusting to 'them thar' Texansbut in time he would grow to call Texas home. He was a child of the sixties and that never changed. An original hippie, Richard believed in flower power and he struggled his entire life with his beliefs weighing against society's demands. Richard was a genius and attained several certified I.Q. scores greater than the 98th percentile, the acceptance score for Mensa. If Richard enjoyed your company then that said a lot for both your character and your intelligence as his friendship was not easily earned but stalwartly defended. Richard graduated with honors from The School of Hardknocks and continued a lifelong process of awareness and self-education. Due to the demands of this world Richard was forced to seek what society terms respectable and gainful employment. He easily earned degrees in technical trades and was last employed as a machinist in the specialty copolymer industry. Richard's interest varied immensely yet leaned towards the arts and sciences. He was an accomplished artist and published writer. He very much enjoyed building computers and troubleshooting hardware or software problems (if you needed help he would even do this late at night and over the phone). Richard would save his change all year and on his birthday he would roll it up, cash it in, and send the check to St. Jude's Hospital. He believed in the work this hospital does. He would encourage his friends to give, never with more than a gentle reminder of what St. Jude's mission is, so give if you can. As Richard was nearing death he related disappointments and regrets of which he said his greatest regret was that he got up each day and went to work, came home, ate dinner, slept and got up the next day andwent back to work. He had fallen into the trap of 'when I retire I am going to . . .' – do it now, live life. That is not to say Richard did not enjoy life, he did, often in excess. But he thought he spent entirely too much time working for something that never got here. He did not like George W. and predicted that the day would come when people would spit when they said his name. Richard enjoyed music more than most of us, especially the Blues. Richard is preceded in death by his father Richard Comisky and stepfather, Anthony Nomura. Richard is survived by his loving mother Joyce and her husband Wilmer, his sister Patricia and her husband Victor Short, sister Ruth Lee, brother Craig Comisky and his wife Jocelyt, brother Anthony Nomura and his wife Elda, sister Toni Nomura, sister Dennise and her husband Jody Walker, his longtime best friends Cheri and Brian Worth and their threebeautiful daughters Katie, Lindsay and Jenna, his stepson Todd Boeve and his sons Eric and Cody. Richard had numerous nieces and nephews some of which he adored, others he merely tolerated and if your feelings are hurt then you must be one of those he tolerated. Thanks to you all for your love of Richard and the kindness that blossomed from that love as Richard's struggle grew. As Janis Joplin sang 'Take it! Take another little piece of my heart now, baby,' is how the family feels with this loss. We dearly miss Richard and his quirky, playful, more often than not witty and sometimes acerbic ways. He was the brother any family would love to have and a son that would make any mother proud. Richard will forever be in our thoughts and memories. Richard we love you.
This obituary was originally published in The News.