In Loving Memory of Richard Wall

On March 26, 2025, Richard David Wall passed away from heart failure caused by a genetic condition. No one who knew him would be surprised to learn that his heart had out grown his body. He had a love for life, and walked through this world with a smile for everyone he met. Richard was a man of outstanding moral character who held himself up to the highest of ethical standards. His honesty was only matched by his generosity and loyalty.

Born on December 18, 1952 to Jack and Clara Wall, Richard was number four in a roster of eight. He grew up in Muncy, Pennsylvania, a quintessential small town surrounded by wilderness and farmland. There everyone called him Dick, something that always made his children laugh.

He loved sports, but especially basketball and spent endless hours in the backyard shooting hoops with his friends. He could still hit a jump shot well into his sixties, keeping up with kids less than half his age in pickup games at the park.

As a teenager, Richard taught himself how to sing and play guitar. It seemed like he could play any song you asked for, and if he didn’t know it, you could just hum a few bars and he’d figure it out. In keeping with his DIY spirit, he learned to play all the accompanying instruments, including the drums, bass guitar, and accordion. He recorded two albums, the first “Danali” as Rick Wall. While producing his second album, “Wall to Wall” he adopted the stage name Rick Andrews for his brother Andrew, who played on the album. Richard was sure to let you know that Andrew was far more talented guitar player than him. Their big brother Steve agreed, but insisted that Richard really connected with a crowd and was the best performer he’d ever seen. Later he would perform under the stage name Rick Elliot for one of his favorite poets, T.S. Elliot.

After graduating from Temple University, Richard painted his parents’ house in exchange for a one-way ticket to Los Angeles, only confirming his father’s suspicion that college had turned his son into a communist.

There he landed a job as a production specialist at Producer’s Studio where he saw history in the making when he watched model spaceships zip along a wire and explode. The making of “Star Wars” was being born. He thought the movies looked “silly and cheesy”, one of the first in a long line of hot takes Richard would have over the years.

In L.A., Richard met Dana Lewallen and found a love that would last him the rest of his life. They got married in his childhood home on November 26, 1977, right after the Penn State football game ended.

After their wedding, Richard and Dana moved to Tacoma, Washington to help with Dana’s younger sisters. There they started their own family. They welcomed Alisson Haley first, and then a couple years later, Nicholas Bryan.

Richard took a job at Cablecraft when they moved to Tacoma and was soon the employee representative. The guys he worked with encouraged him to go to law school. His LSAT score earned him a generous scholarship at the University of Puget Sound’s school of law. Despite never taking notes, working and spending every moment he could with his kids, he still managed be published in the law review, receive an American Jurisprudence Award, and graduate with honors.

A few short years later he became a father for the third time with the birth of his youngest child, Nat Blair.

Parenting came naturally to Richard, he was an engaged and patient father, gentle parenting long before it was cool. He always had a game to play, a project to do, or an adventure to go on. He built foil boats to sail down the street when it rained, taught the kids to play penny poker with pretzel “cigars”, made dozens of homemade costumes, presided over “family court” when there was a dispute between the kids, hosted “College Bowl” in the living room, drove around searching for the source of spotlights, had water fights in the house, and always let the kids think they were winning at “beat ‘em up” right before he’d put them in “The Crusher.” He’d often find Nicholas waiting by the front door for his best buddy when he came home from work, and despite not having any siblings terribly close in age, Nat always had a willing and enthusiastic playmate.

They moved to Spokane Washington in 1992 when Dana was offered the opportunity to own a Tupperware distributorship. Richard put his legal career on hold to join in her dream. Together they worked side by side building up her business.

A few years later he returned to law as a prosecutor for the City of Spokane. Richard took to the job with the mindset that a police report was the only truth. When it became evident that it wasn’t, he switched to doing defense work and started his own practice. Richard had a passion for fighting injustice, and for those being harmed by a system that was supposed to protect them. He was known for only charging a client what they could afford, even if that was nothing at all. Once he received an old Lincoln Continental with a crushed red velvet interior in lieu of payment and proudly drove it to pick his college-aged daughter up at the airport.

Over the years Richard and Dana opened their home to countless international students.

Some only visited for a short time and others stayed for years. Many consider Richard to be their second father as much as welcomed them like his own children. He and Dana got to travel the world visiting their international children, almost as often as they traveled back to Spokane to see Richard and Dana.

He didn’t often get worked up about the big stuff and was always focused on how to fix a problem rather than assigning blame. But he was very excited by the small things. He loved a good home brewed beer, making a new ice cream recipe, playing all sorts of games, a terrible joke, and the perfect snow for sledding. Christmas will never be quite as magical without him.

His greatest joy was becoming a grandfather to Zachary and Clara. He was delighted by them, and vice versa. He matched them in playfulness and silliness, and they adored him.

Richard was a true handyman who could fix anything ….. eventually. His family joked that he would never hire anyone to do something he could do in twice the time for double the price. No project was too ambitious for him whether it was asbestos removal, replacing a burnt-out clutch, or stuccoing the entire house. If he didn’t know how to do it, there was no doubt he would figure it out, a skill he passed down to his children, who spent countless hours holding flashlights and handing him tools.

He enjoyed working on cars as much as he hated it. Or maybe he just needed an excuse to swear at something and hit it with a hammer. Many great (or at least memorable) times were had restoring and maintaining a 1981 FIAT Spider convertible with Nicholas. Wearing one of his signature hats, he drove the joy out of it, often with a little dog by his side.

Sailing was something Richard always had an interest in. Late in life he purchased a small sad looking boat and restored it with the same care and craftsmanship he applied to all his projects. This one didn’t have a motor, so fewer cuss words were required.

He was a voracious reader of all things history. Every night you could find him at the dinner table buried in book excited to learn something new.

Richard held sacred the Constitution and the American justice system. He’d never call himself a patriot, but that’s what he was. He was so excited and full of energy for his latest project “Core Values USA” a non-partisan organization to promote and advance the rule of law, freedom, and democracy.

Our family has lost a great love, father, grandfather and friend. The hole he leaves will never be filled, but we can all honor him by seeking justice, fighting for those in need, leading with compassion and kindness, and trying to have a little fun while we do it.

We will celebrate his life on May 31, 2025 at 2 pm at the Tamarack House in Spokane, Washington.