This is just aweful! Dr. Jeremy Richman was part of my Kung Fu family - extended family mind you. He was an instructor at another location at my school. I only met him when he judged my events at tournament. He gave good feedback is all I remember and that I liked his demeanor. He moved his family East and suffered the horrible tragedy of losing his daughter in the Sandy Hook shootings. I have talked here before about the foundation he and his wife started- The Avielle Foundation. It deals with mental health issues regarding violence in society. He is survived by two other children I think. One born after Avielle was murdered. And his wife. And yet, apparently, he succumbed to his own mental health issues stemming from the tragedy of his daughters murder. Shocking news to wake up to. Father of 6 Year Old Sandy Hook Shooting Victim Found Dead at Connecticut Town Hall
Well, the news is spreading through my FB page like a shock wave among various members of my school community. I am having trouble fathoming this. How a person with a degree in neuroscience, and a person who would KNOW how his death would affect his family, a person who started a foundation to understand mental illness, could not feel he could reach out for help? It makes me so incredibly sad. I feel so bad for his wife to have to go through this after what she has gone through already. With two small kids................ And, as I said on FB, may Alex Jones rot in hell for what he has done to make the lives of the survivors of the Sandy Hook shootings more difficult than it already was. I So admired his work with the Avielle Foundation. People can argue the various sides of the gun control issue, but how can anyone not rally behind more science to deal with mental health issues? This is a great article I found this morning. The Hartford Courant - We are currently unavailable in your region
Condolences to you and your KF family. If anyone out there doesn't know the Alex Jones connection, here's a recent article about the link. Sandy Hook dad who killed himself was under a constant attack by conspiracy theorists: NYT reporter
Thanks all. I did not know him well enough to need personal condolences, but I certainly know people who do. A lot of the long time instructors knew him on a more personal level. I did so very greatly admire his work with his foundation. And from all accounts he was a really great guy.
Suicide is often shocking, and yet other times sadly it is not. Many things can drive one to take their own life, it's different for everyone. The common theme is that the pain is too much, feels permanent, and suicide is seen as the only/best option.
