Remembrances by Susan O’Handley

Remembering Rich McCaffery

I likely knew Rich McCaffery the least amount of time of anyone in the Cooperstown region, but also likely knew him the longest. When our family first moved to the area in 2003, one of the first things we did was to reach out to our local organizations that were involved with environmental work to introduce ourselves and learn about the activities that our local groups were focused on. The Cooperative Extension office was one of our first stops. When I met Rich at that time, I was surprised to learn that we were not only both Long Island transplants, but we were born in the same hospital, grew up in the same home town and graduated from the same high school (although certainly not the same year).

We had a good laugh at this unusual coincidence at the time, but never dreamed of the mutual connection that we shared, that goes back to those Long Island days.

A few years later, I was working on a project in partnership with CCE and Rich had paperwork for me to pick up. He had accidentally left the papers in his office, so we went up to the second floor together to get them. When I entered the office, I stopped in my tracks in surprise, as behind Rich’s desk was a framed photo of my next door neighbor from Riverhead.

I blurted out, “Why do you have a picture of Mary Louise Fisher behind your desk?”

There are many words that can describe Rich; speechless is not one of them. He literally had no words…for about 30 seconds.

This is when I learned that THIS Rich McCaffery was the OTHER person who had the alarm code to the Fishers’ home when they were away, THAT “Richie” who helped mow their lawn on occasion, THAT “Mr. McCaffery” with the beige car in their driveway that was often a dinner guest at the house next door. Mary Louise was a leader in the 4-H community in New York State and it turns out was a significant person in Rich’s history.

This unknown, shared history cemented the friendship we had formed in the few years prior and strengthened it over the next 20+ years.

There are people in our world who are glue. They are constantly bringing people together and helping to make connections both personal and professional. In Otsego County, Rich was ubiquitous. Rich was glue.

I worked with Rich on committees and projects such as Earth Festival, Otsego Lake Festival, the Otsego County Fair Recycling Initiative, PumpkinFest, Hall of Fame Classic Weekend Parade, Cooperstown Youth Scholarship Program, Lakefront Concerts. Those are just a smidgen of the groups/projects that Rich worked with throughout his life, only some of the ones we overlapped on. You can read a more complete list at http://www.cooperstownfuneralhome.com/2024/12/richard-m-mccaffery.html.

Armed with a strong commitment to make a difference and a more-than-healthy dose of sarcastic wit, Rich never shied away from doing the work, keeping to the schedule and inspiring others to greatness in all his endeavors. He was the first one to call you out on a not-fully-fleshed-out idea and make you think it through until you landed on the changes that made it make sense. He was there for the big picture concepts as well as the grunt work like hauling tables to set up a site for an event. He helped make things run smoothly and then followed up with things that could be done better next time. I don’t think I have ever met anyone who was so fully engaged in community betterment.

On top of that, he was a good friend: Someone you could call if your car broke down to come and pick you up or help you get to the repair shop or to an appointment if your options ran short. Thoughtful, kind and generous, Rich would share articles that he thought you would be interested in or produce a flyer from a program from a decade ago that he thought you might like to have. He would take time to listen patiently when you needed to talk things out.

And then there are the “Rich”-isms …those things you can hear in your head in his voice. When I write my thank-you notes and start out with “I want to thank you for…”, I immediately hear “Then just do it!” You all have at least one of these, I know you do. If you want to share yours, you can e-mail it to me. When it’s your birthday, do you immediately hear Rich’s “birth anniversary” in your head? Classic “Rich”-ism right there.

Thank you, Rich, for being our glue. For all those who met at his daily morning “office” at Doubleday Cafe (and the wait staff who always came back with a quick retort to his incessant smart-aleck remarks), for those who worked with him at Cooperative Extension, or Bassett, or Lions Club, or Friends of the Parks, or the Village Library or any of the other community programs he was involved with, I share your grief. We have lost some of the glue in our lives that keeps us connected.

We miss you, Rich, and will remember you always. It was an honor to be your friend.

I send my deepest condolences to Rich’s family and friends, and encourage readers to pick any one of our local organizations that Rich was involved with and make a donation in his memory. My own gift will be sent to the Otsego County Conservation Association, where Rich volunteered for many initiatives including Household Hazardous Waste Day and Earth Festival and was recognized in 2013 as Conservationist of the Year.

Susan O’Handley is president and owner of Central NY Mobile Marketing. She is former co-president and current education chair for Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society serving on the Board of Directors for the Audubon Council of NY & CT and the Advisory Board for the NY/CT Regional Office of National Audubon Society.