Right before my Uncle Marc.
That’s where Richard Durrett fits in my prayers before I go to bed.
It hasn’t been like that always. My Uncle Marc died a little more than two years after Richard. My favorite uncle’s death made a little sense because he had finally lost his fight with cancer at 61.
Five years after Richard’s death, it still doesn’t make any sense. But in true Richard fashion, his death has changed people. I know it’s changed me. I know it’s changed his wife Kelly and their three kids. I know it’s changed the lives of more than 100 families simply because of the type of guy Richard was.
Talk about making an impact in 38 short years.
On Wednesday we’ll have our sixth Do It For Durrett event, this one called Do It For Durrett We Are Family. We’re going to give $50,000 to Nick Bourgeois and his infant son Liam. Nick didn’t know Richard at all, but I’m sure Richard would have approved.
He’d approve of all 106 families who have been impacted by sudden loss that we’ve helped. Of course it started in the fall of 2014 with our first event at Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth. We helped Kelly that night, raising more than $200,000 and setting the tone for five more events at Globe Life Park in Arlington.
That first night was parts good and bad. Everything that happened that night was great. Of course the reason we were having that night was awful.
We’ve had Elvis Andrus sing for us. We’ve had Anthony Iapoce breakdance. We’ve had Randy Rogers, Casey Donahew and Wade Bowen sing for us. That Texas country theme will continue this year with Josh Abbott making his first appearance at a Do It For Durrett event.
Josh didn’t know Richard, but I’m sure he would have approved. If you didn’t like Richard, well, that says more about you than it does him.
Richard Durrett, wife Kelly and family
That’s why we can still count on Mitch Moreland to send us auction items from the Boston Red Sox. And Yu Darvish from the Chicago Cubs. And Derek Holland. And Ian Kinsler. And Ron Washington. And Nelson Cruz. And Mike Maddux. And the Dallas Cowboys. And the Dallas Stars. And Texas Motor Speedway. And the Frisco RoughRiders. And the Round Rock Express. And, of course, the Texas Rangers. And that list goes on and on.
Five years later Richard still has that kind of hold on people.
You know what’s cool? Over the last five years I’ve been stopped by dozens of people at different spots who want to talk to me. They don’t ask about the Rangers. They don’t ask about sports. They want to say something nice about what we’re doing with Do It For Durrett. While I take it as a compliment, to me it really speaks more about Richard.
If you’re fortunate enough to come to our sold-out event this year you’re going to get a rubber wristband that has Do It For Durrett on one side. The other side of the wristband said WWRD. It’s there for a reason. We’re not raising Richard to WWJD status. It’s just subtle reminder that if you’re not thinking that way, it’s worth a try to do think, “What Would Richard Do.”
I know in the last five years I’ve asked myself that. I know my fellow board member Jeff Wilson has done the same. It happened recently. The way we do our voting is pretty simple. There are six board members on a text string and if we get info on a family we want to help we vote. If we have a majority and money in our account, we help a family.
Jeff sent me a text about one family that we were discussing. Jeff told me that when it came to making his decision, he asked himself what would Richard do. That answered his question and it made my decision an easy one, too. There are lots of cynical people in the world who don’t see the good in everyone. That includes me. It did not include Richard.
I’m not saying Richard was perfect, but five years after his death it’s really hard to remember any flaws. I’m sure Kelly thinks that way. He’s perfect to their son Owen. Same for daughter Alice. And then there’s Margot, the daughter who Richard never met but I’m sure he sees every day. She’s truly one-of-a-kind, and Richard would be delighted to have his hands full with her.
I cried a lot the night Jeff called me from Oakland and told me Richard died. I remember Emily Jones calling me when I was on the back porch that same night. She was crying, too, in disbelief. I distinctly remember Emily saying we’d take care of the things. We’ve tried our best since then.
I still can’t believe it’s been five years. The timing for Do It For Durrett We Are Family really makes perfect sense. It’ll be two days after the fifth anniversary of Richard’s death and just after Father’s Day weekend.
That brings back a great memory a lot of people who knew Richard have. On Father’s Day five years ago I got my final text from Richard. It was simple, “Happy Father’s Day Anthony.” Not much to it until you really think about it. I wasn’t the only one who got that text. Pretty much every day Richard knew in his phone contacts got a similar text. Similar because unlike some people who text happy this or happy that to everyone in their contact list, Richard added the person’s name to the end of the Father’s Day text.
Look at your phone and count your contacts. Then imagine how long it would take and go and individually text each person in that contact list a message. And do it on a holiday when it’s supposed to be your day as a dad. That’s not easy to do, but it speaks to the guy we’re talking about here.
So if you’re feeling sorry for yourself, maybe a little cynical, maybe not in the best of moods, just think WWRD. I know I do.
