Richard Joseph Espinoza

My goodness Sweet Rick. I know you are resting in peace. I am so sorry you passed with ALS. You handled it amazingly. So patient and you never hit me when I was visiting. Teasingly he would banter this with the kids back and forth with the biggest smile on his face. His service to the USA was heartfelt by the entire Schafer and Hogan family. A brave man. Love you Jennifer, Dalton and Julia.

I remember my cousin Ricky was a great person always had a great smile and always seemed optimistic positive - love cousin John jr

Spring of 1993. I had just checked in to the QA shop at AIMD Lemoore and within a couple weeks our new Leading Chief checked in, ATCS Rick Espinoza. He was unlike any Chief I´d ever encountered; exuberant, energetic, and good lord the man knew his stuff about Naval Aviation Maintenance AND Supply! Within no time he took a group of ragtag Sailors and inspired all of us to dig deeper and bring the very best ourselves to work every single day.

Fast forward to 1995. A small group of us at AIMD were selected for advancement to Chief Petty Officer and now Master Chief Espinoza was leading the entire Chiefs Mess in ensuring that we knew what it would take to succeed as Chiefs. The confidence and camaraderie of the AIMD Chiefs Mess was impressive. They took great pleasure in grinding us down and rebuilding us into the Chiefs that were pinned September 16th of that year...and we loved every single bit of it.

Rick Espinoza always took the the time to make everyone feel like they mattered and were valued. Many years later I was a Senior Chief stationed at Norfolk, Virginia and had been going through a bad stretch at work. My wife at the time knew that Rick and Cindy would be coming through Virginia on their way to his next duty station over in Italy so she privately reached out to him and asked if he would stop by and give me a pep talk. He not only stopped by, and not surprisingly, he brought his golf clubs and away we went for a day on the links for some camaraderie and solid mentoring that did wonders for getting my mind back on track.

The impact that Rick Espinoza had on not only me but hundreds of others has been immeasurable. The lessons I learned from him I still employ to this day and I often think of him and how he would respond to various situations. To say that he was the standard by which I measured myself and all others would be an understatement. Yes, he was that good!

In subsequent tours, I used those lessons in mentoring my Sailors and despite my retirement 13 years ago, I am still in contact with many of them who reach out for guidance or reassurances. This is a gift from Rick that I will always hold near and dear to my heart.

Fair Winds and Following Seas Shipmate, we have the watch.

Rick Gilman
AZCM(ret)
Mount Vernon, WA

When Steve let me know of your passing, I was totally devastated. We lost touch over the years, but you have always been with me in my memories and in my heart. My condolences to your family.

Beautiful tribute to your Brother. Rick and I send condolences to you and you and your family

Spent many summers on the base with Uncle Rick and Aunt Cindy. He would not let us go to the local pool so he ended up buying us a pool that summer. Said us girls were not going swimming with those seamen. He did however take us to mini golf...hate the game to this day. If we missed he would yell "rejected". We always had a great summer. He even took me to take my test for the Navy. He didn´t even get mad when I changed my mind. You will be missed. Hugs to the family.

My dear brother, rest in peace.

I am so sorry for your loss. I knew him as "Espo", and I was the Mo. He was the most remarkable man I ever met. His dedication to his family and the Navy was unmatched. Espo cared about his sailors like they were all his children. And he trained many senior officers, including me. I was proud to serve with him and honored to be the guest speaker and presiding officer at his surprise retirement ceremony. Rest in peace Espo - you will be missed.