Richard Rafael

Richard Rafael, a gregarious and passionate journalist known to one and all as “Rick,” passed away at his home in Seattle on January 8, 2024, at the age of 74. He lived most of his adult life in the Pacific Northwest yet prized his bonds with the Midwest, where he was raised, and the South, where he met his wife and forged his newspaper career.

He came to the Northwest as an editor at the Seattle Times in 1984, quickly making his presence known. “I wasn’t sure what to make of Rick when he first arrived in the Seattle Times newsroom,” recalled Dick Clever, a Times colleague. “He was so not West Coast cool, which I actually liked about him. I think we were both from blue-collar roots. But I grew fonder as I watched him work the newsroom — grumping at reporters one day, encouraging the next. Boisterous and fun to reduce tension even as we approached deadline. Best of all, he was an advocate for hardworking reporters and a hard driver to get the story.”

Richard Joseph Rafael did indeed come from blue-collar roots: Born September 14, 1949, in Sacramento, California, the grandson of Italian immigrants, he lived in Benicia until his family moved to Ohio when he was 7. There, he wrote later, “we lived on the proverbial ‘wrong side of the tracks’ with other poor Italians, and Blacks.”

After high school he worked briefly for the local newspaper. Drafted at 18, he was sent to Army journalism school and then stationed at Fort McClellan, Alabama, where he was a reporter and editor at the base newspaper. It was in nearby Anniston that he met his wife, Teresa Townley Rafael. They married on December 18, 1970.

Two months later, discharged from the Army, he became a sports reporter at the Anniston Star. An outlier among Southern newspapers, The Star had garnered national attention by long supporting progressive policies in a conservative region. The newspaper was progressive on hot-button issues of race and social justice and was one of the few newspapers nationally and the only Alabama newspaper to endorse George McGovern’s presidential bid in 1972.  The Ayers family, owners and publishers of The Star, were strong supporters of school integration — a stance that prompted a scornful Alabama Gov. George Wallace to characterize the paper as “The Red Star.” Rick and others continued in later years to wear Wallace’s moniker as a badge of honor.

Moving to the state desk, Rick began learning the territory he was reporting from: “The state desk covered a mostly poor, rural area of northeastern Alabama, and as I traveled around the area I learned about the people of the South, the values of a small-town life to its people.” He became state editor and then, in 1977, city editor, leading the group of reporters who were the nexus of the paper’s coverage. Several of the young reporters working for Rick had prestigious educational backgrounds having graduated from the likes of Yale, Cornell, Northwestern, and Missouri. Still they often were in their first newspaper job. Rick’s intelligence, drive, and integrity helped to shape The Star and its staff. “I was building their newspaper values, and as they moved on to larger newspapers, they took with them the influence of a seasoned editor,” Rick later said. Many of the Star staffers came to think of their time in Anniston and the mentorship of editors like Rick as their journalism graduate school.

Many of the reporters who worked with Rick went from Anniston to careers at papers as diverse as The Birmingham News, The Charlotte Observer, The Atlanta Constitution, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The New York Times. But it was more than editing skills that set Rick apart. He was a caring friend and many who worked with and for him formed lifelong bonds. A singular group at The Star in the 1970s formed such long-lasting friendships that today, decades after Rick moved on to Seattle and long after others found themselves spread across the U.S., they periodically reunite to renew what for all of them are some the most meaningful relationships of their lives. At those renewals — called Lou Reeds for reasons which are inexplicable — stories from their years at The Star are polished like river stones. Rick, who inevitably cooked at such gatherings, would once again fall into his role as the jovial if curmudgeonly “paisan.”

But Rick eventually grew restless in Anniston, describing “a feeling of accomplishment, but also a sense that I was missing something, that I could be better off than I was.” In 1982 he won a Professional Journalism Fellowship at Stanford University and spent the 1982-83 academic year there, studying U.S race relations, society, government, politics and journalism — and accruing other lifelong friends.

One of them was Andrzej Lebowski, who came to the fellowship from Poland: “I’ve always trusted Rick, and in the world I have come from, trust was not a commodity in ample supply. He has been a one-of-a-kind character – I feel privileged to call him a friend.” Thomas Mulvoy, a retired Boston Globe editor, remembers Rick as “straight out of the Hollywood city editor mold — gravel-voiced, direct in communicating his feelings, and terrific company when off the clock. His connection to Teresa was so up front and his dad love for Maria was a model of its kind.”

Shortly after the fellowship ended Rick moved to the Seattle Times as an editor, eventually becoming city editor. During his tenure, the Seattle Times won the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for its coverage of the Exxon Valdez massive oil spill in Alaska. Four Times staff reporters shared the award. Rick assigned the story and directed much of the coverage, believing the story was important because he envisioned such an event could happen in the heavily trafficked waters around Seattle.

Seattle Times colleagues remember his exuberance and energy: “Rick was hilarious,” recalls Janet Horne, who worked with Rick as an assistant city editor. “There was so much laughter in the newsroom when he was the city editor. He could dish it out AND take it, laughing often and easily at himself.  He had excellent news judgment and thrived under the pressure of a big breaking story on a tight deadline.  Rick was gruff on the outside but kind and supportive on the inside. He was my boss for several years and my friend for many.”

Rick left the Times in 1990, first working as an appointed liaison for the King County (Washington) County Manager and later as manager of media relations of King County United Way. Later, he partnered with Teresa in her consulting practice.

Rick took pride in his Italian heritage, taking immense satisfaction in converting his mother’s recipes into delicious meals. Even when young, in his twenties, Rick was noted by friends as a skilled cook. He was once asked to act as chef for “Italian Night” at an Anniston restaurant. The restaurant was hosting NASCAR drivers during race week at nearby Talladega Superspeedway and following the meal Rick received a standing ovation from his guests. His love of cooking and sharing with friends continued throughout his life as did his undying love for University of Alabama football.

But Rick reserved most of his love for family and friends. He is survived by his wife and partner of 53 years, Teresa Townley Rafael; a beloved daughter, Maria Rafael, her husband, John Halpine, and four grandchildren: Caleb Joseph Halpine, Liam John Halpine, Elena Mae Halpine and Milo Alexander Halpine. His grandchildren, to whom he was “Padgie,” were a source of particular pride and unending joy. He will be forever missed by them all.

He also is survived by three siblings in Ohio — Rod Rafael and wife Diane; Becky Wagner and husband Doug; Melissa Shamel and husband Chris — as well as a sister-in-law, Marsha Rafael, and numerous nieces and nephews in Ohio and Alabama and a large extended family. He was preceded in death by his parents, Joan A. Perazzi and Peter A. Perazzi of Tuscarawas, Ohio, and a brother, Randy Rafael of Gnadenhutten, Ohio.

A virtual memorial service will be held to celebrate Rick’s life on Saturday, September 14 – a date when he would have celebrated his 75th birthday. For details on how to join the event, please send a message to ricks.memorial0914@gmail.com. Anyone wishing to make a donation in Rick’s memory can do so to the American Alzheimer’s Association.