Richard Rizzi, 85, of New Paltz, New York passed away peacefully on Monday, February 14, 2022, at his home surrounded by his loving family.
Born January 1, 1937 in Brooklyn, New York he was the son of the late Frank “Duke” Rizzi and Elvira (Ligouri) Rizzi.
On June 5, 2002, Richard married Susan Kaufman in New Paltz, New York. They had nearly twenty happy years together before his passing.
He proudly served his country in the United States Army from 1955 to 1958, based primarily in Occupied Germany.
Richard dedicated his life to art. He was a poet, musician, visual and performance artist. He collaborated with many artists in the New Paltz and Woodstock area and collaborated with his son Robert, in Denmark, combining words and sounds. Richard also had the ability to inspire younger generations to pursue their artistic ambitions. Throughout his life Richard’s work led him to travel and study abroad, namely at the Paul Klee Foundation in Bern, Switzerland and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Survivors include his devoted wife, Susan Kaufman; his two sons, Dominick Rizzi and his wife, Lise Holten, of Copenhagen, Denmark, Robert Rizzi and his wife Dorte, of Bjert Denmark; his grandchildren, Alexander, August, Ida and Vincent Rizzi and his sister Barbara Dellafemina of Bronx NY. Richard was predeceased by his daughter Denise Rizzi of Denmark.
A memorial will be announced at a later date by his family.
In lieu of flowers please make a donation in Richard’s name to either Vet Zero https://veteranzero.org or the Lewy Body Dementia Foundation https://www.lbda.org.
Copeland-Hammerl is honored to assist Richard’s family with the arrangements.
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