Published March 24, 2021
By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — A year ago this week the town lost two Pioneer legends to the novel coronavirus.
Historical Commission member Steven Richard tragically passed away from COVID-19 on March 24, 2020 at the age of 58. Steven’s father Earl “Skipper” Richard, a World War II veteran who fought in some of the Pacific’s largest battles, succumbed to the virus five days later at the age of 99.
Steven’s beloved wife Karen Nascembeni survived a horrific ordeal with COVID-19 that forced her to be hospitalized for 65 days between three different medical facilities. She was intubated, sedated, and was in a medically induced coma for many of her 35 days at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center.
I became friends with the Richard family over the course of my tenure writing for this newspaper. Karen was the first member of the family I met, which occurred while I was covering the final round of Lynnfield Idol in May 2011. I didn’t know she lived in town at the time and simply thought the North Shore Music Theatre general manager was asked to be one of the show’s judges due to her knowledge of music.
As a musician, I was impressed with her gentle style of giving the student-musicians positive feedback in a way that was equally nurturing and encouraging. She did not use the tough-as-nails approach that former “American Idol” host Simon Cowell and legendary record producer Rick Rubin specialize in. She was kind and reassuring, which is necessary for student-musicians to hear as they try to find their voice.
I conducted an hour-long interview with Earl in December 2011 at his former Essex Village home. We sat at the kitchen table while Skipper recalled his World War II experiences, which included serving on the USS Vincennes. He not only survived the sinking of the ship on Aug. 9, 1942, he also spent the night in shark-invested waters. After getting into a raft, another crewman asked Earl to hold up a different sailor who kept passing out due to extensive bleeding caused by shrapnel slicing open his wrist.
“I had my arm around him so he didn’t pass out and I held onto him for the rest of the time,” Earl told the Villager. “Nobody wanted to hold this guy up, so I stayed with him.”
It was one of the most powerful interviews I have conducted in my career. While Earl was proud of his service, he did not boast about his wartime accomplishments. He shared his stories in a reflective manner.
Steven thanked me for writing the story about his father, who he adored, in an email shortly after the story was published. I finally met Steven in December 2012 when I covered my first ever Historical Society sponsored Country Store. That is when I first learned that Karen was his wife. It truly is a small world sometimes.
Over the course of my time covering the Country Store, I always looked forward to seeing Steven and Karen, catching up about the various things going on in their lives, and inquiring how Skipper and his wife Edie were doing. Steven and Karen loved the Country Store, a town tradition that he had attended since he was a baby. Steven’s parents ran the fundraiser for many years.
“One of my favorite childhood photos is of me sitting on Santa’s lap at the Country Store,” Steven stated in an interview with the Villager before the December 2019 fundraiser. “Now, every year, I’m the one taking pictures of the kids with Santa. It’s been so much fun seeing the same children come year-after-year for their photo, making it a part of their tradition, just like it’s been a part of mine for five decades.”
I also enjoyed covering Steven during Historical Commission meetings. His knowledge about Lynnfield history was absolutely profound and whenever he spoke, the rest of the commission listened closely.
Steven and Earl’s passing to COVID-19 along with the over 541,000 Americans who have died as of Monday is a national tragedy. It was incredibly heartbreaking to see two kind, gentle, compassionate and very funny men lose their lives to a virus that has cost us so much.
The Historical Commission and Select Board’s decision to recognize the Richard family by renaming the Historical Centre in their honor is a fitting tribute to a family that has given this town so much. Townspeople should be eagerly anticipating the building getting a long overdue makeover this spring.
In the wake of unimaginable loss, Karen has used her strength, humility and perseverance in order to raise awareness about COVID over the last several months. She has used the hashtag #wearyourdamnmask as a rallying cry in order to encourage people to follow the reasonable safety guidelines that have been established by the CDC.
“As I said when I woke up, tomorrow is promised to no one,” Karen recently wrote in Northshore Magazine. “Please wear your mask. Be safe, for yourself and for others. At the close of my interview with the Greater Beverly Chamber of Commerce, I said something that resonated with so many people: ‘You do not want to have to have your niece make you a mask for your husband’s funeral with his initials monogrammed on it. I love this mask. I treasure it, and I hope you never have to have one made.’”
Wise words as always Karen. But with the year anniversary of Steven and Earl’s passing now here, I can’t help but think of a quote Morgan Freeman’s character Red famously said in “The Shawshank Redemption.”
“I have to remind myself that some birds aren’t meant to be caged,” said Red. “Their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up does rejoice. Still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty that they’re gone. I guess I just miss my friend.”
