Rich life

MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake man Richard "Rich" Tenaglia died Monday after a short battle with Leukemia.

Tenaglia and his family learned April 2 there was no more medical help available for the treatment of a disease he only knew he had for a few weeks.

"We lost him exactly a week after that day," daughter Kathy Byrne said. "It was so fast. One minute he was there, the next minute he was gone and the thing was, he was in no pain. He had no pain."

Byrne and brother Tom Tenaglia and sister Charleen Fournier fumbled through some old photographs of Rich and the family talking about who's who. Some of the photos told the story of Rich's shuffleboard, golf and bowling hobbies, what he looked like when he was a baby, sepia-toned photos of the family in country western gear, time spent with old military buddies and pictures reminding them of step siblings Don Tenaglia and Donna Hoyt.

The three siblings spent a lot of time looking through pictures and finding more to add to the collection, Fournier said.

The photos provide a timeline of Rich's life.

From baby years, to his teens, from the time he served in the military to his children growing up, and finally the years to his retirement are ingrained in the photos.

Two tears slowly rolled down Byrne's face as she rubbed her eyes thinking about how she wants her father to be remembered.

"I don't even know how to put it into words," she said. "He was the most caring person, couldn't say no to anybody."

When he became ill, he didn't tell his family until he got out of the hospital because he didn't want them to worry, Byrne said.

"He just wouldn't complain about anything," she said.

"That's just the way he was," Fournier said.

Then Byrne laughed recalling, "You could never tell him what to do."

He had a routine he really liked to follow, Fournier said with emphasis.

They recalled running errands and being limited to his favorite places including his favorite place to buy groceries and his favorite place to buy fuel.

They recalled how their dad had a lead foot after fueling up.

"He loved to drive," Tom Tenaglia said.

"Once he got behind that wheel too, he loved to not stop," Byrne laughed.

One of Tom Tenaglia's favorite memories of his father was when the pair served Grant County Fire District No. 5 together for several years.

"It was awesome," he said. "I got to work side by side with my dad. He taught me a lot."

Rich Tenaglia began as a volunteer at the department in 1949 when it first opened and after several promotions he became the assistant fire chief from 1976 to 1991, Bruce Holloway said.

Holloway was the fire chief from 1981 to 1992 and worked side-by-side with Rich Tenaglia.

"He had a laugh that was just contagious. I'll never forget that laugh," he said. "It was just a kick to listen to him."

He recalled one incident that made them both laugh.

Rich Tenaglia was manning the fire hose while extinguishing flames, he said. There were some newer firefighters on the job handling the pump. They allowed too much pressure to exit the hose and it wound up whipping Rich Tenaglia, he said with a chuckle.

"He was a real great member of the department and he'll be missed from the community," Holloway said. "I know he'll be missed."

Fire District No. 5 is honoring Rich Tenaglia by carrying his casket from the funeral to the cemetery on a fire engine Monday morning. Holloway will speak at the service to share more details about their service and friendship together.