Marlborough, MA – Richard Roman Szpak, 57, who was known to all as “Rick” and loved by all who knew him, died unexpectedly at his home on February 28, 2016.
Rick was born in Manchester, New Hampshire in 1958, a son to Roman and Rozalia (Oclon) Szpak whose homeland was Poland but who emigrated to Manchester in 1951. As a youth, Rick was an altar boy at St. Hedwig’s Parish, a speaker at Pulaski Day events for St. Casimir’s, and a paperboy delivering the Union Leader to homes along Pine Street. After graduating from Manchester High School Central in 1976 and UNH in 1981, Rick joined the U.S. Marine Corps. He forged through Parris Island and then Officer Training School in Quantico, served as a Logistics Officer and rose to the rank of Captain. Nothing made him prouder than to have earned his Marine sword. On returning to civilian life, he became a legal assistant and soon ran the litigation paralegal staff at the Ropes & Gray law firm In Boston, while at the same time attending Suffolk Law School at night to earn his law degree. Rick then worked many years as a contract specialist at Fidelity and, most recently, UTC Aerospace.
Rick had big hands, like his father and namesake, and a knack for handiness in all he did. He was a master of tools. He climbed mountains in New Hampshire and across the country and deep into Canada, each time reveling in the views and rejoicing in the feat. He was a Marine in all things and he loved his dog, Gracie. To his three brothers and three sisters, he was an ever-solid friend, defender and supporter. And to everyone he met, Rick was an entertainer, always with a smart-aleck quip to make you double-over, but with a selfless heart that will be sorely missed. His death follows that of his mother by only three weeks.
Family members include his brothers and sisters, Theodore Szpak of Lakeville MA., Krystyna Wyman of Londonderry NH, Mark Paul Szpak of Belmont MA, Edmund Leo Szpak of Orlando FL, Lisa Ann Szpak of Manchester NH, and Tina Marie Szpak of Manchester NH, several nieces, nephews and cousins, and Taylor Nigloschy of Framingham MA, who was dear to his heart and called him her Dad.
Calling hours will be on Saturday from 8:30 AM to 11:00 AM at J. N. Boufford & Sons Funeral Home, 110 Bridge St. Manchester NH. A mass of Christian burial will follow at 11:30 AM in St. Hedwig Church.
Committal prayers and military honors will follow in St. Hedwig Cemetery, Bedford.
For more information and online guestbook please visit www.bouffordfuneralhome.com.