Five year old William Lacey, said: "Dad (Richard) was so brave and strong, he can’t die now.” Richard was brave and strong and passionate about life. He loved life but struggled with it in different ways for many years. The illness stayed pretty well hidden and the Richard people knew was smart, lots of fun with a quirky sense of humour. He was playful, interested and inquisitive about many aspects of this world, very insightful and serious about the environmental crises.

Richard was born in St. John’s, Newfoundland and very proud of that Newfoundland heritage which he received from his grandfather Frank. His parents, Lawrence Lacey and Anne Shirley Sutherland had roots in most of the Atlantic provinces but Prince Edward Island was his second home. In summers, he farmed with his Uncle John Sutherland and made biscuits with Nannie.

Our family relocated to Toronto when Richard was in grade 6. He loved Toronto and eventually found love there with Ashley Beech. They gave birth to William Archer (5) and Penelope Quinn (3). They were the love of his life and he also loved being Uncle Dick to Emma and Ethan, children of his beloved sister Briana and her husband Kevin Louro. In his difficult years Briana (aka Bowser!) was his constant support and back up.

Richard, known for heading hockey pucks, 10 years of great Christmas parties and love for playing games like Chess, Catan and Zelda with friends. His gaming love he shared with his best friend Chris Simms of 36 years and his godson Jackson. Richard loved animals (including his dogs Lucky, Teddy, Cito, tarantula and ferret) and was passionate about so many things in nature, more recently as a minor farmer growing many things, orchards and honey bees. He absolutely loved his life in Solina.

Richard has left too soon but we remember the things he loved, the people he loved know who we are, his spirit and passions we will carry for the remainder of our days.

We invite you to join Richard's family to remember and share in memories of his life at RUNNYMEDE United Church (432 Runnymede Rd in Toronto) on Sunday November 12th at 2 pm EST.

LINK TO SERVICE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW4NmIWixDU&ab_channel=RunnymedeUnitedChurchRUCservices

Internment to take place at a later date in Prince Edward Island.

Donations can be made to Gerstein Crisis Centre (click on Make a Donation at the bottom of the page) and family condolences can be made through turnerporter.ca.