Ames, Raymond Richard
On January 27, 2022 Raymond “Rick” Richard Ames, age 57, passed away after a short battle with cancer. Rick was born September 19, 1964 to Raymond and Sol Ames in Manila, Philippines.
He attended school in Southeast Asia until the family moved to Blacksburg, Virginia in 1980. He graduated from Blacksburg High School in 1982. He attended Georgia Tech University for several years studying Aerospace Engineering after graduation. Following his father’s death, he left Georgia Tech and traveled and worked across the country.
He returned to the east coast to attend St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland. After graduating from St. John’s in 1994, Rick felt the need to serve his country and joined the U.S. Army. He served in the 325th Airborne Battalion Combat Team which is part of the 82nd Airborne and was deployed to Bosnia. After his time in Europe he returned to civilian life and pursued his master’s degree concentrating in Education.
After the tragedy of 9/11, Rick served in the Army Reserves in Civil Affairs in both Afghanistan and Iraq for several years. He attended Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California and studied Arabic. Rick was honorably discharged as a Sergeant First Class and settled in Richmond, Virginia. He taught high school honors math and coached the Robotics team at J.R. Tucker High School. He put his teaching career on hold for several years to care for his mother, Sol, who had severe dementia. After Sol’s death in 2019, he returned to teaching at Falling Creek Middle School. He taught math until his death.
Rick was devoted to learning and bettering his students. Seeing their success in class and in life brought him joy. He lived his life in service to others and his country. He loved travel, opera and art. He also enjoyed classic cars and motorcycles.
Rick is preceded in death by his father, Raymond, his mother, Sol and his beloved dog Katie. He is survived by his brother, Patrick, sisters Margaret and Dolores and his dog Luka as well as many nieces and nephews.
Rick will be buried at the Virginia Veterans Cemetery at Amelia. A private memorial will be this spring. Memorial donations may be made to St. John’s College, Annapolis, MD or Circle Center Adult Day Services, Richmond, VA or sent to Patrick Ames at 3420 S. 222nd Street, Elkhorn, Nebraska 68022.
February 2, 2022 @ 7:15 am
We at Tucker High School are very sad to learn of Rick’s death. Those of us who were fortunate to work with him remember his excellence in teaching, his kindness, and his love for his students. Our thoughts are with his family.
March 4, 2022 @ 12:27 pm
Ì am greatly saddened by the news of Rick’s passing. I will remember him for his kind and gentle spirit. We shared a love for dogs and used to walk together with our furry kids.
March 9, 2022 @ 10:23 pm
I served in Vicenza Italy with Raymond. One of the most amazing, cerebral, and kind people I’ve ever met in my life. I count myself lucky to have spent time with him.
April 21, 2022 @ 2:12 pm
We so enjoyed working with Rick at Circle Center and supporting Sol. What a terrible loss. He stands out among caregivers as I reflect on my 9 years here at Circle Center. I was so saddened to learn recently of his death. My condolences to the whole family.
June 16, 2022 @ 3:02 pm
He was cool. I learned a lot from him and he liked putting a little cinnamon in his tea. Im sorry to hear of his passing.
June 16, 2022 @ 9:08 pm
Outstanding Soldier. He served proudly and honorably. I offer my sincere condolences to his family.
June 17, 2022 @ 7:44 am
This knowledge hit me pretty hard. He was a good man and patriot.
Some facts about Rick: He took cinnamon in his tea. He liked watching Russian movies with no subtitles. Because of his driving skills and my shooting, our lone gun truck beat the Bragg IED ambush attack version of “The Kobayashi Maru.” Rick would pose questions that sounded like extremely deep thoughts about the universe, but half the time they were his version of a dad joke. (It could also be that maybe i didn’t understand what he was talking about and he was laughing about how much of an idiot i was). He didn’t like getting his picture taken and he liked making me do flutter kicks.
I attempted to incorporate what i learned from him into the training and guidance i provided for my team and soldiers. He had a strength and confidence that he brought forth when he spoke. He helped save me when we got hit by a bomb. I was lucky to be a member on his team.
June 19, 2022 @ 5:18 pm
I only found out about Rick’s passing a few days ago. He was a true friend and a great mentor. I fondly remember many of our talks while we were in Baghdad together.