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Today's Featured Biography

Richard Lacaze

A lifelong resident of Stinson Beach, Richard died at his home on Willow Avenue on Monday, April 21, 2008. He was 55. Although the immediate cause of death was not known, he had been receiving care for a life-threatening illness for many years.

Richard was born at Marin General Hospital on July 10, 1952, the son of the late Henry B. Lacaze and June N. (Parsons) Lacaze of Stinson Beach. He attended Stinson Beach School and Bolinas School. He was a 1970 graduate of Tamalpais High School.

He began working in the family business, Henry’s Service, during summer vacation while still in high school. After his father’s death in 1971, he supervised daily operations until the business was sold in 1979. He worked as a welder and in concrete construction for a few years, until his mother’s death in 1985. He was then employed by Marin Recycling and Marin Sanitary Service until he had to stop working around 2001 when his health faltered.

Richard loved Stinson Beach. He loved his dog Juggles, just as he had loved his previous dogs, Beaver, Hobart and Stranger. He got great enjoyment from his potbellied pigs, Hootie and Furman, and their friend, P-Winkle. He had many friends, and, as his mother had, he took in many people in need, friends or not. In his last years he had the joy of being uncle to two loving nieces, after years of being proxy-uncle to other children and young people.

Richard is survived by his brother, Skip Lacaze, and sister-in-law, Vera Dahle-Lacaze, of Fremont, and by his nieces Ellie and Katie. He is also survived by aunts Dorothy Lagorio of Vacaville and Kathy Ward of Napa, and by many cousins and long-time friends.

Had Richard lived, he would have eventually needed a liver transplant. For those who wish to make a memorial donation, his family suggests the Liver Disease Management and Transplant Program at the California Pacific Medical Center. Donations may be made online at www.cpmc.org/giving or by check made out to CPMC Foundation, P. O. Box 45902, San Francisco, CA 94145.

Sign up to be an organ donor the next time you renew your driver’s license or do it online now at www.donatelifecalifornia.org

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