R.I.P. Rick Oshea- a true Jacksonville cultural pioneer and icon...

[triclops i]

Today is a sad day in Jacksonville- Mr. Oshea was a good freind of my family.

I remember going to vaudville nights at the new southbank riverwalk when I was a kid, circa 89-92. It was amazing- mimes, fire breathers, stilt walkers, food, everything cool, every week, free to the public. We need something like that now!

Kite Riggers was amazing! It is hard to imagine a kite shop on the riverwalk now, but it was huge! He sold kites, african drums, tye-dye anything, all kinds of cool stuff. I remember the grand opening!

I remember hanging out at Osheas house and noticeing all the different types of people coming in and out to see him- from old southren rock types, to strait up dead-head hippies, then a group of suit and tie lawyer types after words. He was freinds with EVERYONE, they all respected him for thinking outside of the box.

Jacksonville was a much different place in the 80's-early 90's. Him just being himself and doing what he loved in those times inspired me to , when I grew up, not to just be a normal status quo Jacksonville redneck and instead someone who dedicated his life to furthering arts and culture. It is because of him I know it can be done, and here, and now, and only if people like us never quit doing it.

Supporter of local and international arts and culture. Great organizer of people. Jacksonville native and lifetime resident. He couldnt stand, so instead he stood for all of us, hippies, eccentrics, bohemians, whatever you wanna call people who live by their own terms and not the worlds. He will be greatly missed...

Ian Ranne



Rick O'Shea, who brought the joy of kite-making and kite-flying to hundreds of people in Jacksonville despite being a quadriplegic, died in his sleep Tuesday at his Southside home. He was 51.     The cause is still being determined. A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. April 26 at Prince of Peace Catholic Church, 6320 Bennett Road, followed by a reception in the church hall. Friends said Mr. O'Shea was remarkable for his accomplishments and outlook on life despite his physical disability, the result of being critically injured in an auto accident that killed a friend in 1975. ''No person I've ever known who has walked made the impact this man did from a wheelchair,'' said Vincent Balanky, a friend since childhood. ''Rick was a hugely intelligent guy, and I can't ever remember him feeling sorry for himself,'' said a former business partner, Pat O'Rourke. ''He was such an inspiration to others.'' In a 1986 interview, Mr. O'Shea said his philosophy on life ''is to keep laughing and to look for what you can do. There's a whole lot no one can do and a lot that everyone can do.'' Born in Jacksonville, Mr. O'Shea graduated from Englewood High School in 1974. At the time of his near-fatal accident, he had enlisted in the Army, but had not reported for duty, according to his mother, Anne O'Shea. He started taking college classes while still in intensive care in the hospital when a therapist got a Florida Community College at Jacksonville professor to agree to take him as a student. The hospital people were wonderful, Anne O'Shea said. They rigged up a contraption that turned the pages on textbooks for him. ''He would dictate his reports to me and I took them down in shorthand and typed them for him,'' she said. ''It was just incredible and he got an A in the course.'' Mr. O'Shea eventually was able to use an electric wheelchair and a specially equipped vehicle to drive himself to classes at FCCJ and then to the University of North Florida, where he earned a master's degree in education with a 4.0 average, his mother said. She said she's getting phone calls from across the country from his friends who are learning of his death. Mr. O'Shea taught disabled children and young adults at Sunny Acres Camp and also became a part-time instructor at FCCJ. He found he could use his childhood love of kites to teach his students math, history and geography. He opened his first kite shop in a kiosk at the old Market Square Mall. Later came shops on Spring Park Road and at Costa Verde Plaza in Jacksonville Beach. But Mr. O'Shea was perhaps best known for KiteRigger's Kite Shop on the Southbank Riverwalk, which he and a partner operated from February 1988 for about five years. Mr. O'Shea was a fan of the arts of every type and launched a Vaudeville Night program where entertainers performed weekly on the Riverwalk for several years. He instituted programs with the Duval County public schools where children had Kite Days, making and flying their own kites. He also organized kite festivals throughout the city and at the Beaches, and hosted a convention here of the American Kite Flyers Association. ''Flying kites is a way to reach for the heavens,'' he told the Times-Union in a 1991. In addition to his mother, Mr. O'Shea is survived by his sister, Patricia Hollingsworth of Jacksonville. The family suggests memorial contributions to help support the work of Mr. O'Shea's missionary niece, Grayce Munyard. Contributions may be sent to Youth With A Mission, 501 Blacktail Road, Lakeside, MT 59922, marked for Grayce Munyard, Home of the Open Heart. jessie-lynne.kerr@jacksonville.com, (904) 3259-4374

[Driven1]

sounds like a good guy.  sorry to have not met him.  it also sounds like his niece has a heart for children like him as she is working with the Christian ministry YWAM.  he obviously had an impact on Ian as a child.  imagine if everyone did a tenth of the good this guy did. 

[teresangel]

 

Wow.

Blink.

[Driven1]

in the arms of an angel...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxK6q0ENKzk