Our father, Richard Joseph Weinsteiger, entered the emergency room in Reading, Pennsylvania on November 3rd, 2023, and was not able to be revived, due to a sudden, dissected aorta. He was 61 years old.

Richard was sea green eyes that were sometimes blue in the mountain hindsight. He had a way with his hands and could carve masterpieces like his father. He cultivated lush gardens like his mother. He was fluent in watercolor. He painted a brighter outlook in hues of Appalachian harvest and in Army, dress greens. He was incredibly complex and suddenly illuminated. He was an eternal rebel, an unvarnished soul.

Rick was an Army Sergeant, a master carpenter, a business owner, an amazing cook, and an artistic soul who struggled deeply with depression and anxiety. While he recognized he couldn't be initially present for his family, he was committed to presence in recent years. He was committed to a kinder outlook and sharing his recovery journey. His perspective was finally liberated.

His smirk, mischievous humor, and charisma brightened many days. His affinity for nonconformity is imprinted in our memories of him. His laughter will echo in our minds. His animated gift of storytelling, love of creative cooking, appreciation of classic rock, and the ability to foster resilience in the most improbable of situations, lives on within his children and grandchildren.

He is survived by his four children (Rebecka Ann Weinsteiger; Richard Joseph Weinsteiger, Nena Larieze Weinsteiger Guzman, and Joseph Karl Weinsteiger); his parents and stepmother (Eileen Weinsteiger, Richard Weinsteiger, and Piper Sherburne); his three siblings (Michelle Weinsteiger, Lisa Weinsteiger, and Matthew Weinsteiger); and his six grandchildren, Treasure Larieze Weinsteiger (20), Aurora Blume Weinsteiger (16), Hollis Leon Weinsteiger-(Brown) (12), Evan Joaquin Guzman Weinsteiger (11), Oliver Mateo Guzman Weinsteiger (8), and Camila Demi Guzman Weinsteiger (5). He is preceded in death by his wife, Susan Larieze Weinsteiger (Schroeder), who passed in 1998, to the place where we all return.

: A pillar of physics states that the total energy of a closed system remains constant in perpetuity. This (is)the conservation of energy. This means energy can only be transferred or transformed. But not destroyed. The best of Richard stays with us. Rick was a force. His energy interacts with us still, in memory, in thought processes, and in perspective. May his obstacles become our lessons and his moments of radiance illuminate us all.