Richard Washek

Richard Washek (Rich) was born on December 5, 1958, in Great Falls, Montana, and was adopted the following year by Tony and Bernice Washek, who had been praying for a child to join their family. He was loved at first sight and always knew how much he was loved and wanted. In 1969, Rich and his mom and dad moved to Port Orchard, where they lived out their lives.

Rich was always creative and talented and he learned to play a horn in the band, play the piano, sing, and draw. He also loved to debate and was an avid reader. He was drawn to drama, and loved to perform, and was often seen in productions at Bremerton Community Theater, Port Orchard Actors Guild, and Gig Harbor Performance Circle. He also worked on and/or created many sets for these theater productions, as well as at the Admiral Theater in Bremerton and in Seattle. He loved to sing and wrote and performed his own composition at his graduation from SKHS.

After his mother passed away, Rich returned home to live with his dad. He enjoyed traveling, both in the United States and in Europe and Asia, with his Dad and other family members and experiencing the different cultures and wonders of those areas.

In his later years he began to paint murals, including some in Port Orchard, and some in other parts of the country. He also painted and produced various pieces of wood sculpture and furniture that grace homes and businesses in and around the Puget Sound area.

In 2012 Rich was diagnosed with cancer, which he fought valiantly. He is predeceased by his mother (1981) and father (2000), and is survived by his sister and brother-in-law, Velma and Mike Farrar, and his niece, Chris McGuire, her husband Greg, and her children—Jake Cassi, and Kati.

Richard is missed, but will be remembered, not only by his family and close friends, but also by those who knew him through his art, writings, and conversation.

“”For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.” II Corinthians 5:1 (NLT)