Who knew that Sharpie would routinely come back from court when he was a prosecutor, in the dog-house with then circuit court and soon to be 3rd DCA Judge (and a legendary chief Judge of that court) Alan Schwartz? (Comment courtesy of legendary prosecutor Abe Laeser). Apparently most of Abe Laeser's limited experience as a defense counsel was in defending Sharpie, his C prosecutor, from possible contempt proceedings.
Who knew that Richard was a legendary camp counselor as a teen? (Comments from several of his campers).
A life is so much more than the sum of it's parts; like a painting is more than just individual brush strokes. The things we do, great and small, add brush strokes to the canvas. Then at the end, our friends and family step back and look at the canvas. Sharpie painted a rich, full masterpiece. So did Stuart Markus- DOM's dad who passed away Sunday. Stuart Markus was remembered as a lawyer who never said "no" to a client in need. What a remarkable life he led, and what a wonderful example he set for the rest of us.
For those of you just hired out of law school and working at the PDs or SAO, your whole life is in front of you. And sooner than you think, most of your life will be behind you. Big cases will come and go. But if you don't take the joy out of each day, bring something special to each moment you interact with someone, and if you don't bring joy and happiness to those you meet (as Sharpie and Stuart Markus did) then your canvas will be dull; gray and black strokes, the picture muddled, the canvas wasted.
Richard's funeral will take place at Temple Beth Shalom in Miami Beach. The address is 4144 Chase Avenue.
Amen brother.
ReplyDeletemy favorite part of the blog rumpole are the wonderful and kind tributes paid to our fallen warriors.
ReplyDeletewe are all one big family -- whether one is a prosecutor, a defense lawyer, a clerk, a bailiff or a judge. one is no better than the other. we have a mission: to provide a fair and trustworthy and reliable venue to dole out true justice according to the blueprint set by the laws of the government and the constitution.
we all make errors in our professional and our personal life. we are humans. no one is perfect. we should be kind to one another and forgive, tend to the less fortunate with generosity, maintain our integrity at all costs, love our family and friends, be loyal ... and always strive to do the right thing.
we have said good bye and paid homage to many great justice building warriors in the past few years. they were the greats and legends. they served there time here hopefully making an imprint on us and setting the kind of example for us to one day be written about with such honors, kudos and sadness about our death.
always remember richard's kind smile....
god bless you all...
well said
ReplyDeleteWhile I am still very troubled and saddened by his death, I will, as part of his lasting legacy, continue to strive to be even a small percentage as good and kind a person as "Sharpy" always was.
ReplyDeleteBR
Nicely said.
ReplyDeleteHere I am deeply move for all the good memories and kind remarks in memory of "Sharpy" I never knew him but reading so much after his death I realize it has been a great lost for our community. I am also curious to know why the death of such a valuable person was hardly mention in the news, and no explanation yet of how he die. He was still a young person. What happened?
ReplyDeleteI only hope that while alive he was aware of how much he was love and respected by his co-workers, sometimes we do not express our grattitude, love and admiration the way we should , and is only when is too late that we take the time to do so.