ForeverMissed
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This memorial was created in honor of Richard Alan Schwartz. Richard was born on March 5, 1952 in Cleveland, Ohio and passed on December 12, 2020. Richard was loved by many and will be dearly missed by all friends and family. He has left us all way too soon but not without a lack of special memories of our time with him. I wish to use this platform for all that knew Richard to share their stories, memories and tributes to him. Please add videos and photos if you have some to share.
March 5, 2021
March 5, 2021
I had a little rush of sadness this week when, more than once, I flashed on, "oh my goodness, I have to remember to wish Richard a Happy Birthday and schedule a visit". But then, no.
There are so many great Richard moments which we've incorporated into our lives. One of my favorites was Richard's admonishment when eating a particularly hearty dish or sweet dessert: "Oh, it's TOO rich"...(eyes rolling in sarcasm as we both dug in). So now, whenever we eat something really yummy that is, indeed, too rich, I conjure up Richard's tone of voice and facial expression as I repeat his line, and we all have a good laugh.
I also remember that Richard was one of the main people who encouraged me to have a child. "You owe it to the gene pool" was his pragmatic yet complimentary line.  I think he may also have been the one who injected "The time's going to pass anyway" into my thinking, regarding things like going back to school or learning a new skill. You might as well put the time to use, because it will pass whether you do or not. Good life lessons from a big-hearted guy.
February 16, 2021
February 16, 2021
Richard and I met when we were both in our early twenties - I was a temp at the Space Sciences lab at UC Berkeley. Richard always looked out for me a little, letting me know about work opportunities, giving me good advice, and in the meantime, I always loved his uninhibited approach to life. He lived large and shamelessly, while maintaining his good and generous heart. Over the years, he became part of our little family - staying at our place over the holidays and visiting multiple times a year. To my son, he became "Uncle Richard", someone with whom he could banter about sports. Together, we all enjoyed many a fantastic meal. This last year, we were awaiting his holiday visit, but alas, he was already too ill. I made a plan to go back east, but my own health took a blow - I was sad not to have said goodbye. But he'll remain in all our hearts and forever be Uncle Richard.
January 27, 2021
January 27, 2021
I really got to know Richard when I moved to Goddard about ten years ago. I worked with him on RHESSI. Richard was one of a kind. One of the smartest people I knew, he was always willing to answer my questions however simple. I learned a lot from him and always appreciated his willingness to tell it like it is. I think everyone would agree that sometimes he could go a little too far but we are all flawed human beings. I will miss having lunch with him immensely. His passing is a personal loss to many of us but it is also a major loss to the scientific community. We will never know what discoveries will not be made without the insights and software he would have provided.
January 21, 2021
January 21, 2021
I didn't know Richard well, but I really enjoyed our frequent random encounters. It always brought a smile to my face when would see him down the hall and realize we'd have another - often involving some playful teasing (a show of affection for both of us). There were times when I would seek him out for assistance with an IDL or SolarSoft question, and he was always extremely helpful. I will surely miss him.
January 19, 2021
January 19, 2021
I had a classic love-hate relationship with Richard. We had a completely different upbringing and general approach to appreciating life’s many pleasures. He was raised in a big city in the US, I was brought up on a farm in rural England; I played soccer, he played tennis; he loved food, I eat to live; he had a prodigious memory, my poor memory has always been one of my biggest weaknesses; he loved to travel and had friends all over the world, I am more of a home body with a wife and three children.
But we had a common interest in obtaining, analyzing, and understanding X-ray observation of solar flares. As he put it in the resume he used for all of his proposals to NASA, “His main skill was the ability to combine scientific understanding with efficient computational techniques.” I greatly admired and respected this ability and utilized extensively the products of his creativity - the computations tools that he and others developed, that he invariably optimized, and passed on to Kim Tolbert to test, verify, and make usable for mere computational mortals like me and most other working scientists trying to understand the observations. But despite this appreciation and need for his help, I still found it difficult to interact and work with Richard on these areas of common interest.
To overcome this difficulty, I developed the following technique when I wanted to get Richard’s help with a problem I was having. I would walk into his office when I thought he would be in a good mood. Hopefully, Kim would be there too. I would explain the problem I was having and then listen to his response that would invariably be that he had thought of this himself long ago, that I didn’t know what I was talking about with the implied “you idiot” at the end of every sentence, and that there was really no problem at all. My winning technique for handling this onslaught was to count to 10 before responding. This allowed me to collect my thoughts and respond in as rational and non-emotional way as possible. Of course, in perhaps 90% of the time, Richard was right, and I had missed something or forgotten about something, and his insight and way-superior knowledge of the computer programs, many of which he had written himself, allowed me to correct the problem I was having. I like to think that the picture in the photo gallery provided by Sam Krucker shows me counting to ten in Richard’s office.

But it was the 10% of the time that I was right that I think made our relationship work as well as it did. Once Richard realized that I was onto something, he really got involved and we worked together as equal colleagues to solve the problem. In that mode, Richard was delightful to work with and we had many successful joint outcomes that resulted in significant advances and published papers. Unfortunately, many people never got to see this side of Richard.
Since his passing, I have often wanted to bring a new problem with the data analysis to his attention and get him involved in solving it. I am still struggling with the fact that I will never be able to do that again. But Richard has left us with a tremendous legacy of extensive and efficient data analysis software for our use. The scientific return from almost all of the space missions, and some ground-based instruments measuring high energy solar flare radiation since the Solar Maximum Mission era in the 1980s has been greatly enhanced by Richard’s work. We can only try to continue making scientific progress without him, but I personally will greatly miss his unique contributions.
January 19, 2021
January 19, 2021
Message from Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate

I wanted to send my personal and sincere condolences for the passing of Richard Schwartz, a well appreciated member of the Heliophysics and NASA communities. 

I got to know Richard as a colleague and member of the solar community back when I was still doing research - he was a key member of the RHESSI team then. I will always remember his can-do attitude and deep understanding of the mission data he worked on and unlocked for others. To me, his life’s work is an indication and reminder for all of us of the deep and diverse skills needed to make our NASA missions successful - he will leave a big gap. What is sure though is that his kindness and friendship experienced by many, and also the deep impact of his work will live on well beyond his untimely passing. 

January 13, 2021
January 13, 2021
I was really shocked to hear that Richard passed away all of a suddedn.

I don't remember exactly when I met him for the first time, but it was during an occasion that some Japanese people, including myself, working on Yohkoh HXT visited Goddard around mid. 1990's. He offered me a ride in his car for lunch and we had some conversation during the drive. It is my good memory as he had already been familiar to me by that time. I had seen his name in many of the data analysis programs for Yohkoh (in particular, UTPLOT IDL program) and, of course, his famous papers on super-hot plasmas in solar flares. After then, he came to ISAS several times and we occasionally went out for lunch, this time on foot. One day when we were walking together, he warned me to walk another sidewalk running just close to and in parallel to the one I was walking along. I was walking along a trail for bicycles. He wanted to follow the trail for pedestrians no matter how the two trails look identical (and even though no one else was there). I was a bit surprised to hear this as people, I mean Japanese people, usually pay no attention to whichever trail they walk along. But since then, until now, I continue to try to walk the trail for pedestrians recalling Richard.

When I visited Goddard in 1998 for about 2 months, he kindly arranged an apartment room for me. Thanks to his arrangement, every paperwork stuff for the contract went very smoothly except that when I arrived the apartment in the afernoon, the apartment office was already closed and I was not able to receive my room key. I make a phone call to Richard and, although I don't remember what he did, I was able to get into my room after all. I was fortunate enough that he was able to come to the apartment to help me.

While I stayed in Goddard, I was in a room for SoHO data analysis (EAF; Experiment Analysis Facility) and Richard was also there close by. We had enjoyable conversations from time to time both on solar and non-solar topics. One day he told me a story of earning money by resaling something purchased at a Yaohan US store in the west coast (I think it is no longer present) - obviously this had nothing to do with solar physics, but it was fun.

Later, in 2015, I participated in a RHESSI meeting hosted by NJIT just for one day. In the morning, in the breakfast corner of the hotel I was staying, I happened to see Richard. It was a pleasant surprise as I didn't know he was there. We walked together to NJIT. I was quite fortunate again since I had no idea by then how to get to the meeting site (!).

He was always, yes always, very kind to me. It is totally unbelievable that I can no longer see him. But my pleasant memories of him will never fade away. It is no doubt that he will be remembered by the high-energy solar physics community around the world.
January 12, 2021
January 12, 2021
Richard was my "American Friend" as my children used to say. We first met when I arrived as a young PhD student at the Space Sciences Laboratory at UC Berkeley. I was sharing his office for one year and I still remember his happyness when he came back from the successful HIREGS launch in June 1980. For forty years after this first meeting, we regularly met, had dinner in the US, Europe, at my home, while working on the SMM/HXRBS data, then on the RHESSI mission and finally on STIX. Richard was more than an excellent colleague for me, he really became a friend. I got used to his character and his jokes on my French accent and habits.I am very sad that he left us so soon and unexpectedly.
January 11, 2021
January 11, 2021
I must have met Richard for the first time in 2008 or 2009. We have at least one thing in common - we were both graduate students of Bob Lin at the Space Science Lab at UC Berkeley. However, our PhDs were almost 30 years apart - Richard must have graduated when I was just a little kid. When assisting with organization for Bob Lin's 70th birthday party, I remember asking Richard if he was a student of Bob's. He replied that he was "Student Zero," meaning, the first! Throughout the years I learned a ton from Richard - about analyzing solar flare spectra, about software practices, and also about good food and how to find the best restaurants. I really enjoyed our friendship, and I am immensely grateful for how much I learned from him. It took me awhile to realize that often Richard would not directly answer a question I asked him. Instead, he would engage me in a conversation about the topic that went on for awhile, and when the conversation was over I would realize that I now knew the answer, and also knew a whole bunch of other stuff that I hadn't known before. I'm really sad that he's gone, and I will miss him.
January 11, 2021
January 11, 2021
I had the pleasure and opportunity to know Richard for decades. I soon got through his man-of-few-words veneer, I found a gentle man.  He was smart, accomplished, for sure, but he willingly helped everyone who asked. One of those was me, of course. It is a pity he is gone, we will miss him.
January 8, 2021
January 8, 2021
Richard was a work colleague. I met Richard just after I finished my PhD, and moved from N. Ireland to work in Japan for the Yohkoh spacecraft. Richard visited regularly then, and was always there with a witty comment, cheeky smile, and enjoyed all the countries he visited. He was kind to all underneath his humour! We will miss that so much. I last saw him a couple of years ago in DC when he joined us in an Irish pub to watch a rugby match - his first experience I believe. He was always happy to experience new things, and meet new people. Very much missed. x
January 4, 2021
January 4, 2021
I first met Richard at the first RHESSI workshop in Berkeley in October 2002. Back then I was a graduate student struggling with the intricacies of RHESSI data analysis software. Richard helped in great deal getting up to speed on this, which paved the way to my dissertation work. I was fortunate to use more of his help during my postdoc at Goddard (2007-2009). As many have shared, behind his seemingly sarcastic tone, there is a warm-hearted man willing to offer a helping hand at any time. His jokes at every RHESSI lunch, his love for food, and his interesting personality will live in our memory.
January 4, 2021
January 4, 2021

Richard and I met as postdocs at NASA-Goddard in the mid-1980s,
where we were operating telescopes on the Solar Max (SMM) spacecraft.
He was a fierce competitor in sports, and we spent much time together
on volleyball and tennis courts. For many years he has been the go-to-guy for
analysis software for high-energy solar observations, and he was known
for his expertise internationally. At times Richard could be disarmingly candid,
contrary, and exasperating, which is probably why I considered him a good friend. RIP
January 4, 2021
January 4, 2021
In October, 2019, Richard was invited to visit PMO, where Dr. Yang Su and I myself made a contract with him on the data software related to the HXI/ASO-S. The contract covers two years initially, i.e., by the end of 2021. I was very shocked when I heard this sad news from Brian on Dec. 18. It is really a great loss for all of us, the community of high energy solar physics. I still remember to meet him at Goddard in 1999 when I visited there for 1 month....I reminisce him
January 2, 2021
January 2, 2021
During my PhD, I spent 4 months working at NASA Goddard and I remember Richard very fondly from my time at Goddard. Richard was the life and soul of the office and he always organised the office lunch outing on Thursdays at that time. My time at Goddard would not have been the same without Richard’s help, his intelligence and of course his wonderful sense of humour and quick wit. I will greatly miss seeing Richard at RHESSI workshops and my thoughts are with his family at this sad time.
January 2, 2021
January 2, 2021
Dear Carol, My profound condolences to you and your family. I grew up with Richard as a fourth "brother" to the Erwin family.  He and Bob were thick as thieves.  They loved going to baseball and football games together. They were both adventurous and thought nothing of traveling to downtown Cleveland by themselves in the 70's.  They met at Oakville and continued their friendship into high school. When I moved to California, I reached out to Richard who was living in Berkeley at the time. He was helpful and kind. I'm glad he and Bob reconnected through Facebook before Bob passed away. I also enjoyed Richard's posts and his travels. He will be missed. 
January 1, 2021
January 1, 2021
I will miss Richard. For the past 15 years, I had the good fortune of working weekly in an adjoining office to Richard’s and Kim’s. It was a stimulating experience and enabled us to develop techniques to study nuclear and high-energy gamma-ray emission from RHESSI, Fermi, and the SMM. As the door to their office was mostly open, I could often hear their dynamic and stimulating discussions mostly about the work that they shared. They complemented each other and were very productive. Richard could be intimidating, but I always felt a strong kinship with him and recognized the caring spirit within. I loved our discussions about sports:, his dear Cleveland baseball team and the Nationals. It was a welcome break from the science we did. Goodbye Richard.
January 1, 2021
January 1, 2021
I remember last January 1st (2020) I was taking the train from Amsterdam to The Hague and Richard and I chatted through FB Messenger the whole time. He told me what he had cooked for the holidays with his family and sent through pictures of the food detailing all the ingredients. He also shared historical facts about many of the cities in Europe I visited when I moved there. He was a walking encyclopedia of WWII knowledge and when he was in Berlin he insisted we visit one of last standing Flak towers, which ended up being one of my favorite places in Berlin. I usually had some information on the history of a place, but Richard always knew the most fascinating bits you never read about. That was Richard, nonchalantly dropping extraordinary bits of knowledge in between sending pictures of brisket and gefilte fish. I will miss our unique friendship. I know his loss is felt by so many who knew him. His Sending my deepest sympathies to his family.
January 1, 2021
January 1, 2021
I knew Richard starting in the '90s, from conferences and later when I worked at NASA Goddard. When I was still a grad student, I visited him in Paris with my friend Norma (I forget why Richard had an apartment in Paris at that point?) and he made us dinner. He was a generous man with a great sense of humor. My husband Mark (who also worked at Goddard in the mid '90s) remembers how Richard would take orders for Peet's coffee whenever he went to the Bay Area. He will be missed.
December 31, 2020
December 31, 2020
So sorry to hear this news. Richard was my host when I first visited Goddard as a young scientist from Scotland in 1990. I was warned by many people ahead of time that he was somewhat of an interesting character in a tone that left me more than a little worried. What I found was a kind-hearted man with a wonderful personality and a wry sense of humor. Over the years, he introduced me to some great restaurants around the country and I looked forward to hanging out with him at various conferences. I still enjoy telling the story of a particular Thai restaurant in Berkeley that Richard took Jim Ryan, Dominic Zarro and myself to. Even though I haven’t seen him much over the last several years I have many happy memories and will miss him. Deepest condolences to his family.
December 31, 2020
December 31, 2020
Dear Carol- Steve and I are so sorry for your loss. Richard was a wonderful man, brother, uncle and son. He will be sorely missed by all who knew him. We consider ourselves fortunate to have known him and were able to enjoy some time with him over the years. He was a devoted family man who never missed a celebration and his quick wit and wealth of knowledge added much to each celebration. You and your family are in our prayers. Love Diane and Steve
December 29, 2020
December 29, 2020
My name is Anne. I was a classmate since Oakville-Mayfield Jr-Mayfield Sr. I was never in any of his classes but I knew him. He would pass me on to classes and say HI. Or when we had our High school reunions he would say HI. I sometimes referred to him as an egghead, One of the smartest classmates I knew. I will miss him next time when we all meet for our 50th???? reunion. Sending prayers to his family.
December 28, 2020
December 28, 2020
I was lucky enough to marry Richard's cousin, Cathleen. The bonus was knowing Richard.
Every moment I spent with him was a real pleasure. Such generosity of spirit.
I will also miss his cooking. But mostly his wry humor and intelligence.
My deepest sympathies to those who knew him and miss him, too.
December 28, 2020
December 28, 2020
I shared a cubicle with Richard for several years during the SOHO era in the late 1990s. He was inimitable. I will always remember his mix of brilliance, quick wit, bristly exterior, and deep kindness. He always demanded rigor and wit from those around him, and never pulled punches. Over the last two decades I have looked forward to our all-too-rare encounters - both professionally and personally - at GSFC and at conferences.  Richard was a gem of the science community and will be deeply missed.
December 25, 2020
December 25, 2020
My brother was one of a kind. We were so different in so many ways yet we were very much a like. My kids and I are going to miss his special dinners, his special matzah brie, his Thanksgiving Turkey's, his frittata's. 
When he would come for a visit he would make himself comfortable at my dinning room table, setting up his computer's, working and watching his games. Life will not be the same without my brother. Love, Carol
December 20, 2020
December 20, 2020
Richard was my uncle. We shared a love for the game of tennis when I was younger and as I grew up what we shared most was a mutual appreciation and respect for each other. He could always be relied on, he never missed a family function and he never turned down an opportunity to cook for those he loved. I am devastated to have lost him but his memory will always be one of my biggest blessings. Uncle Richard, you were loved more than you'll ever know.

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Recent Tributes
March 5, 2021
March 5, 2021
I had a little rush of sadness this week when, more than once, I flashed on, "oh my goodness, I have to remember to wish Richard a Happy Birthday and schedule a visit". But then, no.
There are so many great Richard moments which we've incorporated into our lives. One of my favorites was Richard's admonishment when eating a particularly hearty dish or sweet dessert: "Oh, it's TOO rich"...(eyes rolling in sarcasm as we both dug in). So now, whenever we eat something really yummy that is, indeed, too rich, I conjure up Richard's tone of voice and facial expression as I repeat his line, and we all have a good laugh.
I also remember that Richard was one of the main people who encouraged me to have a child. "You owe it to the gene pool" was his pragmatic yet complimentary line.  I think he may also have been the one who injected "The time's going to pass anyway" into my thinking, regarding things like going back to school or learning a new skill. You might as well put the time to use, because it will pass whether you do or not. Good life lessons from a big-hearted guy.
February 16, 2021
February 16, 2021
Richard and I met when we were both in our early twenties - I was a temp at the Space Sciences lab at UC Berkeley. Richard always looked out for me a little, letting me know about work opportunities, giving me good advice, and in the meantime, I always loved his uninhibited approach to life. He lived large and shamelessly, while maintaining his good and generous heart. Over the years, he became part of our little family - staying at our place over the holidays and visiting multiple times a year. To my son, he became "Uncle Richard", someone with whom he could banter about sports. Together, we all enjoyed many a fantastic meal. This last year, we were awaiting his holiday visit, but alas, he was already too ill. I made a plan to go back east, but my own health took a blow - I was sad not to have said goodbye. But he'll remain in all our hearts and forever be Uncle Richard.
January 27, 2021
January 27, 2021
I really got to know Richard when I moved to Goddard about ten years ago. I worked with him on RHESSI. Richard was one of a kind. One of the smartest people I knew, he was always willing to answer my questions however simple. I learned a lot from him and always appreciated his willingness to tell it like it is. I think everyone would agree that sometimes he could go a little too far but we are all flawed human beings. I will miss having lunch with him immensely. His passing is a personal loss to many of us but it is also a major loss to the scientific community. We will never know what discoveries will not be made without the insights and software he would have provided.
His Life
December 23, 2020
Richard grew up in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. He attended Oakville Elementary School and quickly developed a name for himself as academic's came very easy for him. He went on to attend Mayfield Junior High School and Mayfield High. Richard received his BS in Physic's from Carnegie Melon University and his PhD in Physics from the University of California, Berkeley. 
In the mid-80's he joined an X-ray group working on the solar flare data from the Hard X-ray Burst Spectrometer (HXRBS) on the Solar Maximum Mission (SMM).  Since then he had been involved in the analysis of data from almost every space mission that has made high energy solar flare observations.  His biggest role had been the scientist responsible for the Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) data analysis software.  His main skill was the ability to combine scientific understanding with efficient computational techniques.

In the mid 80's Richard moved to Maryland where he lived until his passing.

In high school Richard graduated as class Valedictorian, played football, track, was a member of the Latin Club, Student Council, National Honor Society, "It's Academic" Captain, National Merit Scholarship Semi-Finalist. 

Richard grew up watching the Cleveland Brown's and Cleveland Indians. Both teams were very important to him and he watched every chance he had, from where ever he was.

During college he picked up tennis and enjoyed playing for many years.  He loved to cook and spend time with family and friends. His work enabled him to travel all over the world and he had many friends all over the world.  

One of Richard's biggest joys and disappointments was being on the TV show Jeopardy.  It did not turn out the way he had hoped it would and as a friend of his recently said, " I am sure he's found Alex and is arguing his case".



Recent stories
December 28, 2020
I was invited to spend many holidays at Carol’s (Richard’s sister) house.  Richard was always at the head of the table.  His nephews and nieces surrounded him at the table.  He was always the guest of honor.  His family loved and respected Richard.  The holidays will not be the same without you, Richard.  You are missed.  

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