Parcourez la nécrologie de Richard Lawrence Switzer May 28 1944

November 12 2024 résidant dans la province Ontario pour le détail des funérailles.
Richard Lawrence Switzer Obituary
Rick Switzer
1944 ~ 2024
Rick Switzer, the sculptor, the athlete, and a man who lived life on his own terms, signed off on Tuesday November 12, 2024 after a cancer operation and subsequent bout with pneumonia. Rick was born to the late Baden C. Switzer and Doris (Lindley) on May 28, 1944. He was pre-deceased by his half-brother, Jack. At his core, Rick was an artist- his way of being that informed every aspect of his life. He dared to be different. When his teammates were nursing blisters from their football cleats, Rick’s footwear choice was supple and comfortable Puma soccer boots. When others were buying Hespeler Micmac hockey sticks from Mr. Wilson’s sports store for $2.50, Rick was retrieving broken sticks from the Whitby arena and making them stronger than ever. Some say he fashioned a curved hockey blade before Stan Makita. One thing is certain, he had a thundering slap shot. Rick was a proud member of the Silver Seven. Not the Ottawa Silver Seven who won the Stanley Cup in the early 1900’s, but the Whitby Silver Seven made up of seven buddies who lived in Whitby’s north ward, and played football on “Ing’s acres,” the front lawn of Bob Ing’s house. Rick honed his kicking technique there, much to the consternation of Bob’s dad, Fred, who feared for the safety of the family’s front windows. In high school, during a championship game, Rick quick-kicked a football close to 100 yards- wind assisted. After high school, he played football with the Oshawa Hawkeyes of the Ontario Football Conference while also attending the Ontario College of Art (OCA). In the summer of 1968, Rick set his sights on playing professional hockey. He worked his body into the best shape of his life and won a spot on the 1968-69 Syracuse Blazers of the Eastern Hockey League. It was in Syracuse that Rick fell head over heels for his forever wife, Kris. After returning to Ontario, Rick reenrolled at OCA, where he studied sculpture for 3 years. In 1972, Rick, Kris and their daughter Anja, the light of his life, did a stint in Newfoundland, where he taught high school and coached hockey. Rick loved working with wood. His waterfowl carvings seemed lifelike, and he sold many of them while living on the Rock. The Switzers returned to Ontario, but a part of Rick never left Newfoundland. Making a living as an artist proved to be daunting, so Rick turned to his great friend John Pritchard and joined the Durham Region Metroland Media Group. There, he became a top ad sales executive and gained the love and respect of his peers. But art was Rick’s calling. So, he returned full time, selling many of his pieces to the Whetung Gallery in Buckhorn. Through a friend, Rick submitted a design for a sculpture competition and won the commission. It produced Rick’s crowning achievement – a bronze sculpture of Orca Whales called The Pod, which resides in Vancouver B.C. This led to Rick Winning the General Motors competition for their Supplier of the Year Award, three years in a row, and subsequently a three-year Bethlehem Steel commission for an award called “Signature in Steel.” Currently, two unfinished sculptures remain at Rick’s home in Pontypool waiting to become lasting legacies of Rick’s extraordinary talent. Rick loved the outdoors and fishing for trout. He once fell out of a tree holding a chattering chainsaw. He enjoyed feeding chipmunks and tending to his bountiful garden, row-on-row, on row. Rick also loved watching NFL football, particularly the Kansas City Chiefs and their quarterback, Patrick Mahomes. Rick was mercurial – in a good way. His childhood wasn’t easy, and it left its scars. Sometimes he had to be coaxed out of sadness. But close friends will say that Rick’s storytelling and sense of humour triggered many of the biggest laughs of their lives.
Rick will be remembered with love, tears, and laughter by his wife Kris, daughter Anja, son-in-law Brad, and the friends of his youth who have aged with him and kept their bonds.
Arrangements entrusted to Northcutt Elliott Funeral Home, 53 Division Street Bowmanville.
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May 28 1944

November 12 2024

northcutt elliott funeral home

Décès pour la Ville:Bowmanville, Province: Ontario

avis deces Richard Lawrence Switzer May 28 1944

November 12 2024

nécrologie Richard Lawrence Switzer May 28 1944

November 12 2024

Nous offrons nos plus sincères condoléances à la famille et aux amis de Richard Lawrence Switzer May 28 1944

November 12 2024 et espérons que leur mémoire pourra être une source de réconfort pendant cette période difficile. Vos pensées et vos mots aimables sont grandement appréciés.