Abstract
James Richards Junior was born in Richmond, Indiana and raised on a farm in Northern Ohio. It was his rural upbringing and lack of available playmates that are believed to have ignited his enduring fascination with cats. A math major as an undergraduate, Jim graduated DVM cum laude from The Ohio State University. He was lured from private practice in Cleveland to the Cornell Feline Health Center by Fred Scott in 1991, and became Director when Fred retired in 1997. Throughout his career Jim worked tirelessly to increase knowledge, awareness and funding for feline health issues. He ran the Louis J Camuti Memorial Feline Consultation and Diagnostic Service, was President of American Association of Feline Practitioners, Chaired the Vaccine Associated Feline Sarcoma Task Force and Vaccine Recommendations Committee, and authored the ASPCA Complete Guide to Cats. Indeed, Jim was the preeminent advocate for feline health in North America. But Jim was much more than the sum of his professional achievements. He was a friend and mentor to many, always making time to lighten the burden of others. He was a family man with a huge capacity for work and play, and a passion for his wife Anita, his boys Jesse and Seth, bad coffee, church, guitar music and motorbikes. He was an incredibly gifted safety-conscious bike rider, and twisty knee-scraping roads and blue-sky days made him grin from ear to ear. It is tragic and ironic that he died as a result of injuries sustained while trying to avoid a stray cat. I miss him greatly, gone is the incredible man in the one-piece kevlar armored red suit, but take comfort from the fact that Jim really lived life, and boy did he love cats!
Respectfully,