Richard Tapscott, BJ ’70, died Dec. 1, 2013. He worked for several newspapers during his career, including the Washington Post, the Des Moines Register, and other newspapers in Wilmington, Del.; Kansas City; Wichita, Kan., Oklahoma City; Fayetteville, N.C.; and Trenton, Mo. He retired from the newspaper business in 2007 and began teaching at Drake University.

Jack Kinney, BJ ’69, sent the following thoughts about Rick Tapscott:
Rick was my pledge brother at Sigma Nu fraternity, my roommate and a fellow J-School graduate. Rick always wanted to be a newspaper man. We kidded “Tap had a nose for news.” After graduating, Rick served his country in the Army, married, had three children and pursued his career as a newspaper journalist. Rick was humble, so he never talked about his accomplishments. He was a terrific father. Rick’s strength and compassion shined when his older sister, Shirley, came down with cancer. Shirley needed a stem cell transplant, and Rick was her donor. Last year I needed a stem cell donor. My brother Roger, also a Missouri graduate, was my donor. Rick coached us through the process and helped us overcome our fears. Thankfully, Shirley and I are doing well. Finally, Rick was a True Son of Ole Mizzou. We talked twice a week about our beloved Tigers. Rick was in a Des Moines hospital when he heard the news about the Tigers win against A&M on Nov. 30. He said, “I’m happy.” Rick died on Sunday morning.

Updated: December 5, 2013