Richard Armogida

Richard (Rick) Armogida, 78, longtime resident of Manchester, passed away on Sunday, January 26, 2025. He was the beloved husband of Sylvia (Lung) Armogida.

Born on April 25,1946 in Amityville, NY, he was the son of the late Russell and Marion (LaBrec) Armogida.

He lived in Vermont and then moved to Manchester, where he graduated from Manchester High School in 1964. A year later he joined the Navy and proudly served from 1965 to 1969.

Rick was a hard worker in the tobacco field at a young age and remained a hard worker in everything that he did. He was a professional driver for CT Limousine, which is where he met the love of his life, Sylvia, together for almost 40 years.

As a driver he enjoyed hearing people's stories, wanting to know where they were from and what they did. He had a genuine interest in who they were.

For a short while, Rick worked for the New Milford police department as a dispatcher where he helped saved an infant's life.

He was very musically inclined, inspired by Eric Clapton he learned to play guitar all on his own. He even formed a band with his friends where they played Eagles songs. Rick was so talented that he would listen to a song, learn the chords and play it perfectly. He volunteered at church and would play his guitar at functions whenever he was able to do so. It gave him such pleasure to know that other people were enjoying his music.

Rick started ballroom dancing and became quite good at it, this started when he agreed to be his sister Karen's partner. They would participate in theater plays and shows as he supported her dream in becoming a professional dancer. He remained close to his sister and together they taught Christian Education to the kids at their church.

One of his favorite things to do was relax at the shore with Sylvia, they visited every chance they could. His summers were spent camping, fishing, traveling and going to RV shows. He kept his cars so clean that the running joke was you could eat off the engine.

He was such a loving father to his son, a fun grandpa to his two grandsons, an adoring and attentive husband to his wife and a great friend to his former wife, who remained a very special part of his family.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by his son, Kristopher Armogida and life partner, Jackie Renaud; his two grandsons, Blaze and Cooper Armogida, all from Ashford; his sister, Karen Armogida of Manchester and his brother, Brian Armogida of Bolton. He is also survived by his ex-wife, Ellen Tarpinian of Ellington along with multiple nieces, nephews and cousins.

In addition to his parents, he is predeceased by his sister, Cheryl A. Wilson, his brother, Bruce J. Armogida and his mother-in-law, Lucie (Sauer) Lung.

The family would like to thank everyone at CJ's Pizza in Manchester, who is catering the reception and has been a part of so many memories throughout the years.

A Funeral service will be held on Saturday, February 15th at 11:00 am at St. John's Episcopal Church, 523 Hartford Turnpike, Vernon, CT. 06066, with a reception to follow. A Memorial service will take place on April 25th on his birthday, also at St. John's Episcopal Church followed by a burial with military honors in their Memorial Garden. In lieu of flowers, donations in Rick's memory can be made to St. John's Church (address above) or to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude’s Place, Memphis, TN 38105 (www.stjude.org).