Richard E. Pollins

With deep sorrow and sadness I share that I lost my beloved, sweet, beautiful husband, Richard (Rich) E. Pollins on January 30th, 2026. His Father Harry, his Mother Judy, and his Brother Bart preceded him and I know greeted him with their loving embrace. And I, his wife Alyson Harvey, survive, along with our greatly loved pussycat Judy, named for both our mothers. The world will never be the same for me, but I try to breathe and move and learn again how I live. He had suffered with some illness for a little while. We were working hard to fully understand what was happening in his body, but an infection triggered various other difficulties, some that had challenged him his whole life, and he let go of that suffering after several weeks in the hospital at age 66. He was surrounded by his loving Aunt Helene and cousin Steve, myself, and our dear friends Ken and Krys.

Rich grew up in Valley Stream on Long Island. He was a popular young man with many friends. His father, who was basically kidnapped into the Merchant Marines as a young man, was a retired Navy man, working mostly on nuclear submarines. He had a few careers after leaving the military, including working for Travelers Insurance and running their exhibit at the 1964-65 Worlds Fair. He also took great joy in their boat, the June Joy, a trawler which took a lot of hard work for Rich and his father, but boats and fishing and the ocean brought Rich many happy times and memories throughout his life, especially childhood visits to his grandparents summer home in Shinnecock on Long Island. His older brother, Barton (Bart) who was very present in Rich’s young childhood suffered from a severe case of autism which came with its challenges for the family. He was moved to a group home while Rich was still young. His mother worked hard to earn her degree in speech therapy, after a brief flirtation with playing concert piano and spending a year at Oberlin College. She had her career working near to Bart as the boys grew. Rich, after some hard work and his parents urging, achieved his bar mitzvah but didn’t observe much after that. Rich spent a few years pursuing college degrees, earning his Associates Degree in Liberal Arts at SUNY Morrisville, with a little time at Cobleskill, then ultimately gaining his Bachelors Degree in Arts from Shippensburg University. He went on to pursue a Masters in Social Work at UC Santa Cruz and spent many happy and also rather challenged years near Santa Cruz, an area he truly loved. He lived in several places, usually with roommates, at one point though his one home was destroyed in a flood and he lost pretty much all he had. He lived unhoused for a few months and never gained his degree, but he developed many friendships there. He began his work in behavioral health working in facilities around Santa Cruz, work I believe he was well suited for given the life challenges he had faced. He shared many stories of his time with friends and patients during these years. An illness with his mother brought him back east and he purchased a small home in Phillipsburg, NJ, near the Delaware River. His parents had relocated to Branchburg, NJ, and ultimately to Four Seasons retirement community in Lakewood, NJ. He tragically lost his father in April of 2000 and quickly sold his home to move in with his mother in Lakewood to help her. He explored a couple careers once he returned east, becoming a realtor, working for AT&T, starting his own business as a consultant, but he returned to working in Behavioral Health, a career that he gave his heart to for many years until his retirement. He met me in March of 2007 and we fell in love quickly, becoming engaged by the end of June. We were married in August of 2008. We were blessed to travel a good bit in our lives, a passion for us, seeing Thailand on our honeymoon, and he loved taking cruises which we shared 3 times together. We traveled to Alaska, around England and Ireland, Amsterdam and Iceland and some of Norway, Sydney, Australia and many places in New Zealand. We certainly explored the western US, getting to many National Parks, and spent time in both western and eastern Canada. We spent many, often spontaneous days down the shore, frequenting Atlantic City and various coastal drives. He loved seafood and we looked for the best we could find. He sadly lost his brother after a difficult illness in April of 2023, his mother in May 2025, only months before his own passing. We had only begun to discover our mostly retired lives together.

His happiness brought all around him to joy. His kindness and empathy toward others, his desire to help was immeasurable. His embracing my own family, my Mother Judy, my Sister Beth, my Brother Sean and his former wife Kim, our beautiful young Niece Ella, and my Father and Stepmother Jay and Bernadette, was a gift. His love of discovering new places, new things, and learning about old and ancient things was boundless. His passion for food from around the world brought us both treasured experiences. His joy in experiencing his Grateful Dead dozens of times in concert and so many other bands of that era, and beyond to music he learned and shared from my own work with classical singing was an anchor in his soul. His desire to see all the beauty that this world and this earth have to offer never ceased. His belief in all things seen and unseen, exemplified by his love of Sci Fi and all the mysteries of this world, gave him a deeply spiritual nature, which he further explored through Eckankar. His tremendous love and affection toward all his furry friends, especially his beloved cats in more recent years, Natasia, Seemore, Mikey and Judy, filled his heart. The love he gave me and I gave right back was our strength, and we were blessed to find each other and share this life together for almost 19 years, married for over 17. He was my best friend, my playmate, my lover and partner, my anchor in every storm, and my deepest source of joy. I am surviving, drawing on the strength of my love with Rich. He is gone far, far too soon.

A memorial service will be held in the spring when the world is hopefully warmer. I will share that date as as I am able. All who knew him and shared his love will be welcome. In lieu of flowers, gifts may be given in Richard’s name to Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) Donate to PAWS: Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society , or to the National Park Service Donate (U.S. National Park Service) ,