Rest in Peace, Dick Kost

A very kind man died on Sunday.  Dick Kost was the husband of my friend, Stephanie Kost.  I have known them for a number of years, first meeting Stephanie through the Junior League and later served with her as a board member of the Ringling College Library Association. 

What I think of most when I think of Dick, is truly what a gentleman he was, in the most lovely, old-fashioned sense of the word.  Dick was the sort of man that when I attended black-tie events on my own and he was there, he would get me a drink and not leave standing alone until I assured him I was perfectly fine on my own.  He was definitely a man of his time.  He was raised with manners and his demeanor reminded me of the first President George Bush - someone who always knew instinctively how to do the right things and act in the most appropriate manner.

How he loved Stephanie, his wife of over 40 years.  Every time I saw them together I could see it.  They had two sons, Robert and Stephen and three grandchildren, Samantha, Zoe, and Charles.  Dick was raised in Grosse Pointe Farms and attended the University of Michigan where he received his BBA and MBA with a concentration in Investment Management. 

Dick worked for NBD Bank, now JP Morgan Chase, in the investment division for 35 years, directing investment strategy and economic research.  He was instrumental in creating and managing the bank's international equity fund.  Stephanie told me he was working on financial things even the day before he passed.

A mass celebrating his life will be held tomorrow, Friday, March 30, at St. Michael the Archangel on Siesta Key at 2 PM.  A warm, friendly, and generous man, he always had a smile on his face. He will be missed.

(Some information was taken from Dick's obit in the H-T.)
  

This is a photo taken by Emily Walsh for The Observer at the 2008 Orchid Ball.  Jim and Sara Bagley are on the left, with Dick, me, and Stephanie.  Even in this photo, you can see Dick's winning smile.