Richard Edward Hargreaves Jr. was born on June 5, 1955 to Richard Edward Hargreaves Sr. and Shirley Jeanne (Balch) Hargreaves in San Pablo, CA. Rick had three younger sisters. When he was six years old, his parent divorced and Rick and his sisters lived with their mother most of the time. When Rick was 14, the family moved to Fort Bragg, CA where Rick graduated from high school in 1973 and was a High School All American Football Player. Rick got a scholarship to play football at West Hills College in Coalinga, CA. There he met and married Debbi Conley.
In 1977 Rick and his family moved to Ukiah, CA where he worked as a lumber grader at Louisiana Pacific, and they welcomed their daughter, Jennifer Hargreaves, in 1979. Rick went back to school, graduating from Sonoma State University in 1992 with a BA in History and then got his credentialing through Dominican College in 1993. Rick started teaching in the Junior High program at the local Christian school the same year. Later in 1993 Rick and Debbi divorced.
After leaving the Christian school, he taught in a residential youth facility in Ukiah, which led him to his passion helping kids in the Juvenile Detention system. Rick became a valued mentor, assisting his students to achieve their many goals. Rick lived in Lake County for several years while teaching at multiple local high schools. He married Diane McMillian in 1996. In 2000 Rick's daughter Jennifer gave birth to Rick's grandson, Preston Cordova, and, in 2002, to Rick's granddaughter, Sheridan Cordova. In 2008, Rick and Diane were divorced and shortly after he moved to Santa Rosa, CA.
Rick worked for the Sonoma County Office of Education for 19 years. At the time of his death he was a teacher at Amarosa Academy, where he was affectionately known as "Coach," and was involved in both the teen parents and culinary arts programs. In 2008 Rick met Karen Morgan through their work for their local teachers union. Influenced by her, he began attending Redwood Forest Friends Meeting and gradually embraced Quaker theology. He was warmly welcomed into membership of the Meeting in December 2014. He was on the Property Committee, a regular attender at Quarterly Meetings and also served on the Ben Lomond Quaker Center Board.]
Rick was an avid golfer and fisherman.
As a New York Yankees fan he would drive to Oakland every time the team played. Camping, boating, scuba diving, and traveling were some of his other favorite activities. He also enjoyed music and theater. He loved spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren, Preston & Sheridan. Rick often traveled to see Preston play soccer and football, and he cheered for Sheridan at each one of her dance recitals.
Rick died on April 17th, 2015 in a boating accident. He is survived by his partner, Karen Morgan, his parents, Richard Hargreaves Sr. and Jeanne Sutherland, his daughter and son-in-law, Jennifer & Eric Cordova and their children, Preston & Sheridan Cordova, as well as his three sisters, Sharon Miller (Jeff), Donna Murray and Michelle Kingsley (Darlis) and many nieces and nephews.
We will sorely miss Rick's vital presence and warm demeanor at Redwood Forest Friends Meeting.