I am writing to honor my dear, beloved husband, Richard Karrel. There aren’t enough words to describe and honor Richard. From the moment we met, I saw inside of him, a beautiful soul, and I saw it every day for 28 years. I met this stunning man and found the most kind, brilliant, giving, strong, and compassionate man I have ever known. He was described by his good friend as “the man that men wanted to be and women wanted to be with”. Richard had many talents. He was an athlete, swimmer, biker, baseball and football player, triathlon participant, musician, accomplished financial planner earlier in life, artist, poet, author of a fiction book, author of medical journal articles, radio talk show host, and doctor. The accomplishment he was most proud of was being a doctor. He was accepted with nominal odds to the School of Medicine in Brussels later in life, hastily mastering a new language to study medicine in French. Later he transferred to Northwestern University and University of Chicago to achieve board certification in Emergency Medicine and Addiction Medicine. Richard saved tens of thousands of lives in the ER and his addiction clinic. I heard patients tell me innumerable times, “Dr. Karrel saved my life.” He was admired and praised by medical staff, professors, patients, friends, and acquaintances. His humor was unmatched. Everywhere he went, he found a way to make everyone laugh. He was so sick in the ICU during his last week of life, but I was astounded that he still found a way to make the hospital staff laugh. His greatest achievement was his love and devotion to his family. He was the most devoted and involved father I’ve ever known. His joy in life was bringing pleasure to his son and wife. Outside of work, he spent his every waking hour laughing and playing with his young son and bringing joy to both of us throughout the rest of his life. He didn’t ask for anything for himself, but was happiest when he contributed to our happiness. And he made that happen every day. Richard’s dreams came true. He found everlasting love, had a beautiful son, and was an adept and gifted doctor. His joy was palpable watching his son play soccer and growing up, achieving his own dreams. My heart soars when I see many of Richard’s best qualities passed down to our son. Richard had my heart and soul since we met. He was the love of my life, the father of my son (my gift from G-d), and my soulmate. My words are inadequate to honor the man I know. My life has changed because of Richard. Every day with him was the greatest gift I could ever ask for. He is in my heart and will be until my last breath. That was how the teenager from high school that you knew turned out from my perspective. Anyone who really knew him was blessed to share their journey with him. The world was truly a better place with Richard in it. Elayne

A Tribute to Rich Karrel: ----- To our great sorrow, Rich Karrel died on April 3, 2023, at the age of 79 due to respiratory and heart complications. ----- In 2018, Rich had to give up his illustrious career as an esteemed medical doctor due to Parkinson’s Disease. ----- Rich was born on October 2, 1943, in Altoona, Pennsylvania. His family moved to Southern California, and in about 1955, his family moved to Evanston. Rich attended Nichols Junior High and was an outstanding member of the Evanston YMCA swimming team, having learned to swim in California at an young age where he became a champion swimmer in backstroke. ----- Rich was indeed a gifted athlete who excelled not only in swimming (a potential Olympian) but in baseball, having pitched a no-hitter in Pony League. Sadly, a severe tackle football injury (dislocating his shoulder, requiring surgery) at the beginning of his sophomore year at ETHS ended his athletic career. The end of Rich’s swimming and baseball careers broke the hearts of Mr. “Dobbie” Burton (the swimming coach) and Mr. Ken McGonagle (the baseball coach). ----- Later that same year, while playing basketball, Rich dislocated his other shoulder, which also required surgery. Having missed so much school that year due to his two surgeries, in the fall of 1959, Rich joined the ETHS Class of ’62, where he became loved by many. He continued to maintain friendships with his former classmates from the ETHS Class of ’61, as well as other classes. ----- Rich was also a gifted musician (drummer) about whom Irv Kupcinet (columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times) wrote: “Teenage drummer boy, Rich Karrel, spotted as a potential Gene Krupa.” ----- Rich was extremely intelligent, despite his modesty about his innate brilliance. In 1973, at age 29, he gave up his profession as a commodities broker to move to Brussels, Belgium, to enroll in French-taught medical school. (He was too old to attend medical school in the U.S.). In 1976, Rich returned to the U.S., breezed through the entrance exams at Northwestern University Medical School, completed his residency at the University of Chicago Medical Center, and became a respected physician. ----- In 2010, Rich published a comedic novel entitled 911; he retitled his second edition of this book, Happy (published in 2021 and available on Amazon). Rich also posted a collection of poems on his website: https://www.richardkarrel.com/ Read more about Rich’s career in the “About” section of his website. ----- Despite his dislocated shoulders, during most of his adult life, Rich regularly worked out, and in 1989, he competed in the Chicago Triathlon. In addition to writing, Rich also enjoyed painting. Rich loved to have fun and laugh, would tell great stories, and loved to hear the funny stories told by others. Rich was indeed a character in the best sense of the word, a true Renaissance person. ----- In February 1995, Rich married Elayne, and in December 1995, they had a son, Jason, of whom Rich & Elayne were very proud. ----- In late March 2023, Rich’s health deteriorated, and he entered the hospital for the sixth time in in five years, but this time, the prognosis looked particularly dire for Rich. After four days in intensive care, after much deliberation, Rich was placed on a respirator – He was then mostly unconscious until his death a few days later. ----- Rich often spoke about how much he loved Evanston and the many good people he knew from Evanston and longed to visit Evanston one more time. Given his various health issues, Rich never made it back to Evanston. ----- In the photo section of this reunion website are a few photos of Rich. ----- Rich is a tribute to those who might have struggled in their years in high school but went on to succeed in life. Hey, Rich, we love you, man, and we will sorely miss you. ----- Posted on 4/20/24 by Alf / Alfie McConnell, ETHS Class of ’62 ----- Friends for 64 years