We now mourn the loss of Rick's brother, Pedro.  Our deepest sympathies to Pedro's beautiful and talented family.  

https://www.pedrogomezfoundation.org/

Rick "returns" to Cuba.  Thank you Pedro.

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=15047587

15 Year LBJ Reunion

In October '06 we had a big fundraiser for Rick's fellowship in Austin, and tied it to an LBJ School "15 year or so" reunion. Turnout was great, and contributions poured in from all over.

Many, many thanks to everyone who donated. Every single gift is helping the Ricardo Gomez Memorial Fellowship reach its $50,000 endowed goal. Donations ranged from $20 to $2500, and the School surprised us on the eve of our reunion with a pledge to match up to $10,000 raised that weekend. Well, we raised $10k and then some, which means that the October 2006 fundraising efforts increased the fund by over $21,000! With some pledges still pending, the Gomez Fellowship is now at $27,380 - over the half-way mark to our $50,000 goal - and all that in the first year of fundraising for the Gomez Fellowship.
Again, sincere thanks to everyone who has contributed to this effort.

Stay tuned, as we'll follow up the Austin activities with a DC-based event next summer/fall to continue the efforts to raise funds for our buddy Rick's fellowship. Keep this site bookmarked. We'll use it to get the word out about future fundraising efforts and to keep you informed about how close we are to our fundraising goal.

Also, if anyone has any Rick- or reunion-related pictures they'd like to post on this site, please work with Porter or Amy.


If you wish to take advantage of an additional tax break for 2006 you may send donations to:
LBJ School Development
PO Box Y
Austin, TX 78713-8925

Please make checks payable to the "LBJ Foundation - Ricardo Gomez Fellowship."

Thanks to you all!
Amy and Jennifer

Rick Gomez Memorial Fellowship

Following is a letter from Amy Hightower and Jen Poulakidas announcing the establishment of the Rick Gomez Memorial Fellowship at the LBJ School of Public Policy at the University of Texas. This letter is being mailed to Rick's LBJ classmates and LBJ alumni in the DC area, but of course contributions are appreciated from all.

December 2005

Dear Friends:

We are writing to you—our classmates, other LBJ Alumni, and friends of Rick, with a special appeal.

You may have heard about the very untimely and sudden loss of Rick Gomez (MPAff, 1992). Rick was diagnosed with liver cancer this summer, knowing for only three weeks that he had the disease before he died.

In Rick’s memory, the LBJ School has worked with us to set up a student scholarship fund in Rick’s name. The Ricardo Gomez Memorial Fellowship would be awarded to LBJ School Master’s in Public Affairs students with a demonstrated interest in governmental and public accountability.

This policy focus is with Rick in mind. As you may know, Rick began his public affairs career working for the City of Austin Auditor’s Office while still a student at LBJ. Rick’s commitment to good, honest government and accountability permeated the rest of his too-short career. When he moved to Washington, DC after graduation, he found work with the U.S. Department of Labor, in the Office of the Inspector General. Rick continued working for the Inspector General’s offices of other federal agencies – including the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Transportation – and traveled around the country investigating and rooting out fraud and waste.

Our short term goal is to raise $20,000 from you, other alumni, and friends of the School. However, if we can raise a minimum of $50,000, the Ricardo Gomez Memorial Fellowship can continue in perpetuity as an endowment.

We recognize that 2005 has been a difficult year on both personal and global levels, but we ask that you please add to your charitable donations this year a contribution to the Rick Gomez Fellowship. Donations are tax deductible and matching gifts from your employer often double or triple individual contributions. Please make your check payable to The LBJ Foundation - Ricardo Gomez Memorial Fellowship and send it to:

LBJ School of Public Affairs
P.O. Box Y
Austin, TX 78713-8925

Many thanks for your consideration of a donation to the Ricardo Gomez Memorial Fellowship at the LBJ School. We wish you and your families a safe and healthy holiday and happy new year.

Amy Hightower
MPAff, Class of 1992

Jennifer Poulakidas
MPAff, Class of 1991

Donations to the Transplant Institute and LBJ

Jim and Pedro have requested that, in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made to the Transplant Institute Foundation, Georgetown University Hospital, 2 Main, 3800 Reservoir Rd., N.W., Washington, DC 20007. The Institute may be reached throught the hospital's main number: 202-444-2000

Additionally, Jim and Pedro encourage those who wish to give to the University of Texas LBJ School of Public Affairs in Rick's name to do so. These funds will go to student scholarships; however, the details of some type of memorial fund are still being worked out. Anyone wishing to make such a contribution should either clearly mark their donation "in memory of Rick Gomez", or just hold off until the particulars are established. If you have questions in the interim, you may contact Amy Hightower at ahtower@stanfordalumni.org.

Guest Book

Several friends have posted on the Washington Post's online guest book. The guest book may be viewed here.

Eddie Carp's Letter to Rick

Eddie delivered this to Rick soon after his diagnosis, and shared this with Rick's friends at the memorial service...

Rick: July 22, 2005

As your death may come sooner than any of us dreamed in our most horrific nightmares, I am afraid that your final days with us will be a whirlwind. I so hoped that you would have the time to see and experience the breadth and depth of the love all around you, but fear the maddening pace of things will cause you to miss too much of it. Therefore, I thought perhaps I could write you this note to tell you about the love I see you’ve sown on this planet, and the desperation with which so many people want to share their love with you.

I know you see all the friends around you. I know you appreciate that friends have flown in from all parts of the world to be by your side. I can’t seem to walk down the streets anywhere in DC this week, without being stopped by multitudes of close friends and well-wishers inquiring as to your condition. You know so many people, and are so thoroughly liked, people can’t help but reach out to connect with you in one way or another.

I hope you know too, why people like you so much. They see what we all see. Your extreme intelligence, lack of pretension, honest passion for all things – especially political and Cuban -- and your neurotic energy and self deprecating sense of humor. Your sense of humor and self deprecation is your calling card allowing all who meet you to know that you are approachable, and accepting of the funny foibles that make us all human. I hope you see what a truly remarkable gift this is.

Your friendships span the world and encompass every facet of your life. From Miami Kenny, to all your Texas Grad School friends, to your many close friends here in DC in NYC….you have built a collection of intelligent friends of the greatest character, all who reflect back on you and your values. Having met each other under these traumatic circumstances, new friendships will be forged -- peppered with cherished memories of you – that will be a testament to you and your legacy.

I know you love your brother and see how much he loves you. I’m not sure, however, that you see his torment, as he has tried desperately to keep it from you. I watch him as he courageously fights – almost constantly – to battle back the coming torrent of grief and rage that he will surely be experiencing after you’re gone. He fears that his breakdown will trigger a breakdown for you, and so he fights to maintain his equilibrium and remains focused on you and your needs. His undying love for you is demonstrated through this constant battle, and his need to be your strong, protective, big brother.

As you have feared, Pedro also fears for his children’s loss of their adored uncle. I see all of their love for you through Pedro’s desire to have them see you and spend some final moments with you. I can hear Sandy’s voice as she talks to Pedro on the phone. Even without hearing her exact words, her frustration and grief are clear. Your family was so important to you, and you made them such a priority in your life, you must know that you are equally important to them, and that your loss will be almost unbearable for them. Your niece and nephews will never forget their uncle Rick, and will grow up with thoughts of you. Your love for them will serve as cornerstones of their character as they mature.

And finally there’s Jim. How we all truly fear for Jim’s future without you. He has confided in me more than once that there was not a single moment in all his time with you that he did not thoroughly and completely love. You have confided similar feelings. You both should have no regrets. You both loved each other as fully and completely as two humans ever could, and your love lives on through anyone who had the pleasure of witnessing it.

I know too that a big part of Jim’s love for you and of your love of him, is your love and respect for family. Jim’s family truly regards you as one of their own. Even the tough, Bagpipe-playing, Jerry cries for you as if he were losing his own son. Their torment is doubled as it encompasses not only their true and deep seeded love for you, but additionally their anguish for their son’s loss of his greatest love.

I hope you will take a quiet moment with Jim before you die, to tell him that it is absolutely vital to your peace of mind that he fight for his future happiness when you’re gone. I fear that he plans to demonstrate his love for you through his future misery. You must convince him that this is not what you want. You must tell him that the only appropriate memorial to you will be his future good health and happiness.

I hope too that you realize how lucky you are to have your one true love by your side as you die. Many never find their true love, or are robbed of the comfort of having them near at a time like this. Jim’s sole desire is to hold you and to comfort you and to soothe you. Be sure to drink that in, and to luxuriate in the good fortune you have so truly earned, and that you so richly deserve.

That’s the final thing I want to convince you of. How truly and richly you deserve this outpouring of love and affection. You -- due to your long battle with neurosis and self-deprecation – don’t fully comprehend your giftedness, and the impact you have had on us all. This outpouring is a reflection of the genuine love and kindness you have generated all your life. You leave behind a magnificent legacy; one I want you to be extremely proud of and to clearly understand before you die.

I love and respect you entirely. My memories of you will never die.

Love,

Eddie.