Richard Eugene Cherry came home to die in California, in the Chico home of his childhood friend, John Garden. He was at peace with himself and the world. John, Peggy Imai [his second wife and treasured friend], and his sister, Diane, were with him. The cause of death was given as "metastatic malignant melanoma" which is more easily pronounced as Agent Orange.
Rick graduated from Chico State with a BA in Psychology in 1967. He promptly volunteered for the US Navy and married his college sweetheart. In Vietnam he served with great distinction, earning a Bronze Star Medal with "V" (valor) and a Navy Achievement Medal with "V" alongside his Purple Heart, and nearly lost his life when his helicopter was shot down. The thought of the impending birth of his daughter -- who would become the great joy of his life -- along with his tenacious spirit, somehow kept him alive against some truly awful odds.
Following Vietnam Rick and his small family spent a couple wonderful years in Naples, Italy, courtesy of the USN, before he was finally booted out -- honorably, of course! He was given a medical discharge and Lieutenant Cherry retired in 1974, returning to live in Chico. Rick continued his education: MA in International Relations, with high honors, Boston University, MA in Psychology, with distinction, CSU Chico; PhD Counseling, national honor roll, Oregon State University.
His work in the Navy became somewhat of a blueprint for the rest of his career years: he had learned Vietnamese, then Italian, and realized he had an affinity for languages -- something which was not evident in poor Mr. Dante's class! [He later learned Mandarin Chinese, Thai, and Japanese!] He also developed skills and techniques for effective communication between different cultures, which became the essence of his later work.
Rick relocated to Carmel Valley following his divorce, and established a private practice there, where he counseled Vietnam vets and families with delinquent kids -- definitely his areas of expertise. He taught cross-cultural relations at Monterey Institute for International Studies [MIIS], and spent a year in China as head of the exchange program. He was given the Deans's Award for Teaching Excellence in 1994, his last year in residence there. That year the students selected him to be Grand Marshal for their graduation parade -- an honor which he deeply appreciated.
Rick and Peggy moved to Chiang Mai, Thailand, where he taught at both Chiang Mai University and Payap University. [After his sabbatical in Bangkok, he decided to "live there, visit home."] He also continued to give seminars for MIIS twice a year, and gave training seminars for a number of industrial giants who were developing foreign enterprises, i.e., AT&T, TRW, Samsung, etc. These seminars gave him ample opportunity to satisfy his wanderlust -- he visited more than 100 countries and had wonderful stories about his travels. He probably knew how to say "hello" and "thank you" in dozens of languages, as he loved to pick up small phrases and use them to surprise and please people.
Throughout his life, Rick stayed close to several of his high school friends, and they were the ones who showed up for him when he most needed comfort and support. He felt truly blessed by such loving and devoted Brothers of the Heart.
Rick graduated from Chico State with a BA in Psychology in 1967. He promptly volunteered for the US Navy and married his college sweetheart. In Vietnam he served with great distinction, earning a Bronze Star Medal with "V" (valor) and a Navy Achievement Medal with "V" alongside his Purple Heart, and nearly lost his life when his helicopter was shot down. The thought of the impending birth of his daughter -- who would become the great joy of his life -- along with his tenacious spirit, somehow kept him alive against some truly awful odds.
Following Vietnam Rick and his small family spent a couple wonderful years in Naples, Italy, courtesy of the USN, before he was finally booted out -- honorably, of course! He was given a medical discharge and Lieutenant Cherry retired in 1974, returning to live in Chico. Rick continued his education: MA in International Relations, with high honors, Boston University, MA in Psychology, with distinction, CSU Chico; PhD Counseling, national honor roll, Oregon State University.
His work in the Navy became somewhat of a blueprint for the rest of his career years: he had learned Vietnamese, then Italian, and realized he had an affinity for languages -- something which was not evident in poor Mr. Dante's class! [He later learned Mandarin Chinese, Thai, and Japanese!] He also developed skills and techniques for effective communication between different cultures, which became the essence of his later work.
Rick relocated to Carmel Valley following his divorce, and established a private practice there, where he counseled Vietnam vets and families with delinquent kids -- definitely his areas of expertise. He taught cross-cultural relations at Monterey Institute for International Studies [MIIS], and spent a year in China as head of the exchange program. He was given the Deans's Award for Teaching Excellence in 1994, his last year in residence there. That year the students selected him to be Grand Marshal for their graduation parade -- an honor which he deeply appreciated.
Rick and Peggy moved to Chiang Mai, Thailand, where he taught at both Chiang Mai University and Payap University. [After his sabbatical in Bangkok, he decided to "live there, visit home."] He also continued to give seminars for MIIS twice a year, and gave training seminars for a number of industrial giants who were developing foreign enterprises, i.e., AT&T, TRW, Samsung, etc. These seminars gave him ample opportunity to satisfy his wanderlust -- he visited more than 100 countries and had wonderful stories about his travels. He probably knew how to say "hello" and "thank you" in dozens of languages, as he loved to pick up small phrases and use them to surprise and please people.
Throughout his life, Rick stayed close to several of his high school friends, and they were the ones who showed up for him when he most needed comfort and support. He felt truly blessed by such loving and devoted Brothers of the Heart.
Richard Eugene Cherry came home to die in California, in the Chico home of his childhood friend, John Garden. He was at peace with himself and the world. John, Peggy Imai [his second wife and treasured friend], and his sister, Diane, were with him. The cause of death was given as "metastatic malignant melanoma" which is more easily pronounced as Agent Orange.
Rick graduated from Chico State with a BA in Psychology in 1967. He promptly volunteered for the US Navy and married his college sweetheart. In Vietnam he served with great distinction, earning a Bronze Star Medal with "V" (valor) and a Navy Achievement Medal with "V" alongside his Purple Heart, and nearly lost his life when his helicopter was shot down. The thought of the impending birth of his daughter -- who would become the great joy of his life -- along with his tenacious spirit, somehow kept him alive against some truly awful odds.
Following Vietnam Rick and his small family spent a couple wonderful years in Naples, Italy, courtesy of the USN, before he was finally booted out -- honorably, of course! He was given a medical discharge and Lieutenant Cherry retired in 1974, returning to live in Chico. Rick continued his education: MA in International Relations, with high honors, Boston University, MA in Psychology, with distinction, CSU Chico; PhD Counseling, national honor roll, Oregon State University.
His work in the Navy became somewhat of a blueprint for the rest of his career years: he had learned Vietnamese, then Italian, and realized he had an affinity for languages -- something which was not evident in poor Mr. Dante's class! [He later learned Mandarin Chinese, Thai, and Japanese!] He also developed skills and techniques for effective communication between different cultures, which became the essence of his later work.
Rick relocated to Carmel Valley following his divorce, and established a private practice there, where he counseled Vietnam vets and families with delinquent kids -- definitely his areas of expertise. He taught cross-cultural relations at Monterey Institute for International Studies [MIIS], and spent a year in China as head of the exchange program. He was given the Deans's Award for Teaching Excellence in 1994, his last year in residence there. That year the students selected him to be Grand Marshal for their graduation parade -- an honor which he deeply appreciated.
Rick and Peggy moved to Chiang Mai, Thailand, where he taught at both Chiang Mai University and Payap University. [After his sabbatical in Bangkok, he decided to "live there, visit home."] He also continued to give seminars for MIIS twice a year, and gave training seminars for a number of industrial giants who were developing foreign enterprises, i.e., AT&T, TRW, Samsung, etc. These seminars gave him ample opportunity to satisfy his wanderlust -- he visited more than 100 countries and had wonderful stories about his travels. He probably knew how to say "hello" and "thank you" in dozens of languages, as he loved to pick up small phrases and use them to surprise and please people.
Throughout his life, Rick stayed close to several of his high school friends, and they were the ones who showed up for him when he most needed comfort and support. He felt truly blessed by such loving and devoted Brothers of the Heart.
Rick graduated from Chico State with a BA in Psychology in 1967. He promptly volunteered for the US Navy and married his college sweetheart. In Vietnam he served with great distinction, earning a Bronze Star Medal with "V" (valor) and a Navy Achievement Medal with "V" alongside his Purple Heart, and nearly lost his life when his helicopter was shot down. The thought of the impending birth of his daughter -- who would become the great joy of his life -- along with his tenacious spirit, somehow kept him alive against some truly awful odds.
Following Vietnam Rick and his small family spent a couple wonderful years in Naples, Italy, courtesy of the USN, before he was finally booted out -- honorably, of course! He was given a medical discharge and Lieutenant Cherry retired in 1974, returning to live in Chico. Rick continued his education: MA in International Relations, with high honors, Boston University, MA in Psychology, with distinction, CSU Chico; PhD Counseling, national honor roll, Oregon State University.
His work in the Navy became somewhat of a blueprint for the rest of his career years: he had learned Vietnamese, then Italian, and realized he had an affinity for languages -- something which was not evident in poor Mr. Dante's class! [He later learned Mandarin Chinese, Thai, and Japanese!] He also developed skills and techniques for effective communication between different cultures, which became the essence of his later work.
Rick relocated to Carmel Valley following his divorce, and established a private practice there, where he counseled Vietnam vets and families with delinquent kids -- definitely his areas of expertise. He taught cross-cultural relations at Monterey Institute for International Studies [MIIS], and spent a year in China as head of the exchange program. He was given the Deans's Award for Teaching Excellence in 1994, his last year in residence there. That year the students selected him to be Grand Marshal for their graduation parade -- an honor which he deeply appreciated.
Rick and Peggy moved to Chiang Mai, Thailand, where he taught at both Chiang Mai University and Payap University. [After his sabbatical in Bangkok, he decided to "live there, visit home."] He also continued to give seminars for MIIS twice a year, and gave training seminars for a number of industrial giants who were developing foreign enterprises, i.e., AT&T, TRW, Samsung, etc. These seminars gave him ample opportunity to satisfy his wanderlust -- he visited more than 100 countries and had wonderful stories about his travels. He probably knew how to say "hello" and "thank you" in dozens of languages, as he loved to pick up small phrases and use them to surprise and please people.
Throughout his life, Rick stayed close to several of his high school friends, and they were the ones who showed up for him when he most needed comfort and support. He felt truly blessed by such loving and devoted Brothers of the Heart.
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