Rich Colli Death, Obituary; In Loving Memory Of Rich Colli

Rich Colli Death, Obituary; In Loving Memory Of Rich Colli, Rich Colli Passed Away Unexpectedly.

The last time I posted something on Facebook it’s because I lost someone who filled my life with laughter, a soul that you’re lucky to meet once a life time. I got lucky many times over, but when you walk so close to love you tread the line with deep grief. That’s what I, and what many of us feel about Rich Colli

Between working at Varga and in Beer, my life was so intertwined with Rich’s for over a decade. I spent more hours, nights, and vacations with that man than maybe even my husband. The gravity he held sucked you all the way into his orbit. God, I’m so fucking blessed to have gotten inside that circle. There is no amount of grief that will pour out of me or anyone that could amount to how much he was loved or even, how he loved.

You can’t talk about Rich without talking about Beer or Varga, but his character and personality overshadowed all of that. Rich was no bullshit and very much all the way with the bullshit. (Those of us who know…😂). No one could pick up on a random inside joke and carry it home like he could. If he saw an injustice, he was the first to stand up and shut it down. He could dissect something into such an obvious black and white, but also stand in non-judgement. When he cared, he cared with his whole being. He was always down to be weird, and do it so effortlessly it made everyone else second guess their self-awareness, which was a marvel to watch. Rich was saturated with integrity. His word carried weight. And when he loved….he REALLY FUCKING LOVED. The thing I always thought was cool about Rich was that he just wanted people to follow their hearts, no matter how off the wall, you’d never find anyone more supportive than him. In a very Rich voice: “I don’t give a shit what it is, just do your thing.. whatever it is! Just fucking do it!” (You can imagine the hand in the air hovering over)

The thing that hits me the most, is that when someone you love so much passes, you hear their laugh. I can’t not hear his laugh. And I’m really having a hard time processing that I’ll never hear that laugh again. But I think that means that, if that is what we are left with, then that is what we should be spending more of our time doing with those we love.
I, and many of us, were really so so blessed to laugh so damn much with him, Sophia Tran Hornyak said via facebook post.

RIP Rich Colli