Kevin Stanley Rickey

Kevin Rickey, 55 of Etna, passed away on November 27, 2016 while on a hike up Kidder Creek trail. Kevin was born in Etna on October 25, 1961. He was the youngest of four children born to Merwyn and Dorothy Rickey. Kevin was raised in Quartz Valley. He attended Quartz Valley Elementary School, Etna Elementary School and Etna High School. Kevin was a hard working man. He was an entrepreneur who started and maintained his own landscaping business and had recently started a bat guano distribution business called The Good Soil People. He was part of the Millwrights union and a minister. He spent three seasons fishing in Alaska and participated in two charity missions, to Guatemala and Haiti. Kevin was known as “Mr. Adventure”. At the age of seventeen he traveled to Europe by himself and continued to explore new places and old haunts throughout his life. He was an avid hiker and passionate about the mountains, wildflowers, mushroom gathering and geology. He was a natural scholar who studied many topics. He took beautiful pictures, kept a journal and loved to read and write poetry. He learned to juggle as a teen and continued to enjoy juggling for the years to come. Not long ago, he spearheaded the establishment of a family memorial scholarship in his parents’ name. Above all, Kevin loved people. He married his wife, Susan, in 1995 and was a devoted father to their two children, Eli and Jenny. His family and friends meant the world to him and they were his greatest joy. Wherever Kevin went, he could easily speak with and make connections with others. Because of this, his circle of friends and loved ones is vast. He was always considerate and opened his heart to everyone. He shared his faith with kindness. He is survived by his wife of 21 years, Susan; son Eli and daughter Jenny; his sisters Chloe Grenvik and her husband Jeff, Sharmel Christ, and his brother Paul Rickey and his wife Michelle; and his many nephews and nieces. He is preceded in death by his parents Merwyn and Dorothy Rickey, his brother-in-law Kenneth Christ and his nephew Craig Strickland. Memorial Services will be held Saturday, December 3, 2016 at 12:00 Noon at the Methodist Church in Etna. There will be a potluck lunch to follow . In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations be made to Kevin’s favorite charity, run by his good friend Fritz Desir: Family Care Haiti in Port Au Prince at familycarehaiti.org, or Scott Valley Scholarships, P.O. Box 352, Etna, CA 96027.

Kevin Stanley Rickey

October 25, 1961 - November 28, 2016