Jack Rickman

“I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life” great philosopher Henry David Through wrote and these words are the tenets to which my father; Jack Clarence Rickman Senior; lived. Daddy lived life on his terms; unapologetically with those he loved in his heart, as well as those on the street whom needed a helping hand, a smile, a cup of coffee or just listening. My father encapsulated those traits, weather you were the 7-11 worker helping him pay for his sensational cup of coffee that he so loved with the right ingredients to always keep him coming back every morning; or you were famous actress Elizibeth Taylor whom looked upon Daddy and exchanged smiles. Daddy didn’t look at the pretense, or the hierarchy of the man or woman he encountered, he saw the human flawed and beautiful. He saw opportunity while others may have seen closure, Daddy wanted to help others rather than take or feel in some sort of belief system type of contest of whom was better because of wealth, status or opinion. Till his last breath, he embodied these deeply rooted qualities.

Daddy fought a long hard battle with kidney failure, which lead to his passing July 14th, 2024; though he was transitioning he was also in the presence around his loves in peace holding hands listening to his post time calling from the race tracks he so loved; and hearing the horses gallop as though they escorted him to heaven to return to his sweetheart; Rosemary Rickman; my Mother; his sons; Jack and Chris Rickman and all of his beloved family and friends he adored.

A graveside service is planned Tuesday July 23rd, at 11:30am at Crownsville Veterans Cemetery 1122 Sunrise Beach Road Crownsville, MD 21032. Family and Friends are welcome.

The son of George and Violet Rickman; he was born on December 23rd,1942 in Beckly, WV. The family then moved to Baltimore, MD where he grew up and lived all of his life.

Robert Frost’s wrote, “Carpe Diem” in 1938; “be happy, happy, happy and seize the day of pleasure” were the mantra my father lived by; embodied and taught all that were in his energy space. His loves were life, horses, the racetrack, playing poker, pool and singing as he played the guitar. He placed all of himself in everything he was doing, whether it was designing the plans for the ramps in Baltimore city, to playing softball for 40 years and achieving senior Olympic status; my father lived in the moment. For he had a deeper understanding that this moment, is truly all we have.

My Fathers friends and family are remembering him as the one whom always shoveled their driveway without asking, showing up unannounced to fix the fence gate, or buying lunch or dinner for strangers thinking of money as only a means, never as the pinnacle of any type of success. Daddy placed wealth on peace, the ability to; “not sweat the small stuff” and move on with a confidence he exuded like the greats you only see in movies.

Daddy is survived by daughter Patty D. Rickman of Millsboro as well as two sons, Jack C. Rickman Jr., and Chris M. Rickman, both who are deceased.

Daddy is also survived by grandson Josh A. Rickman of Pasadena, Md., his wife Kacey Rickman and their children, Wyatt Christopher Rickman, Phoebe Jean Rickman, Jensen Wyatt Rickman, Ollie Rickman and Owen Rickman; granddaughter Kristyn M. Baldwin of Millsboro, Del., grandson Jesse A. Rickman of Pasadena, Md., daughter Isla Marie Rickman; and Granddaughter Lauren E. Baldwin of Towson, Md., and  granddaughter Destini Violet-Marie Rickman of Millsboro.

E.E. Cummings wrote; “I carry your heart with me; I carry it in my heart” is emblematic to the heart of my father; he carried it all within his heart. Braving his life on his terms, loving within the confines of how and what love in its truest form meant to him. Daddy was unafraid to speak it; and in the last days which I will treasure always, he formed those words to all whom he loved including my Mommy Rosemary Rickman whom he shared his love for 63 years. I see their reunion and the divine angels rejoicing as they are now together once again.