Deceased November 15, 2023
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IN MEMORY
Rick Abeles died peacefully of congestive heart failure at his newly adopted home in Walnut Creek, Calif., on Nov. 15, 2023, surrounded by three other Amherst alumni—daughter Liza (Abeles) Lutzker ’01, son-in-law Bobby Lutzker ’01 and goddaughter Sabina McBride ’94 (daughter of Robin McBride ’59).
As a freshman, Rick roomed with Boniface “Bon” Wadors ’59 and Stan Lelewer ’59 (a childhood buddy), and the three remained roommates when they joined Delta Upsilon. Rick majored in physics, served as social chair of DU and co-hosted a popular radio show on WAMF.
After Amherst, Rick graduated from Harvard Law School and served in the U.S. Army. He then returned to his hometown of Chicago, where he practiced law with Altheimer & Gray. In Chicago, he met Kathy (Michigan ’67), and they married in 1968.
Rick and Kathy traveled around the world in 1969 and moved to Santa Fe, N.M., in 1975. Rick worked as a commercial transactions lawyer and served on numerous boards, including many years as board president of both the Santa Fe Children’s Museum and the Santa Fe Community College Foundation.
In 2021, they moved to Walnut Creek to be closer to Liza and her family. After 54 years of marriage, Rick’s beloved Kathy passed away in December 2022.
Rick was both worldly and down-to-earth, and he was known and loved by many. He had an incredible memory, a wonderfully wry sense of humor and an insatiable curiosity. He enjoyed travel, music of many genres, reading and technology. He was a prodigious family genealogist and loved skiing and playing basketball and pickleball.
Rick was active in Amherst alumni functions, including Reunions, “Big Game” telecasts in Santa Fe and, more recently, monthly Zoom sessions with classmates.
Liza (Abeles) Lutzker ’01 and Claude Erbsen ’59