Richard Crowe Obituary

A great friend and folklorist lost to the ages.

You are truly missed here on earth. Please send a message to your sister so we know you are ok!

Your family and friends miss you here. How about giving us a sign from the "other" side. R.I.P.

You were a good friend. I'll miss you. See you on the flip side.

Miss you and your tours. God Bless You...
Joann, if you are reading this. I sent you a note. Hopefully it was at the correct address.
Lucy O..fan of your brother's.

Thinking of the wonderful Mr. Crowe today.

I really enjoyed his sightseeing trips he would put on during the Halloween season. My son and I enjoyed his talent and were impressed with his knowledge of Chicago's past history and its ghouls and hauntings. I am very sorry to find this out. God bless him and his remarkable talent.

Just thinking about you today and all you brought to the paranormal world. You are greatly missed.

See you on the other side someday.

Rereading my January post I realized I was mistaken about the title of the book Richard sold me. It was actually "Chicago's Street Guide to the Supernatural: A Guide to Haunted and Legendary Places In and Near the Windy City"..an enjoyable read!

Years ago I signed on with a Richard Crowe ghost tour. Made his acquaintance and bought his book titled (I think) "A Supernatural History of Chicago". In the inscription he wished me "Happy ghost hunting." A gracious, kind, individual. Drove a black Cadillac Brougham at that time, perfect for a ghost hunter!

I know this is way past due but I have just seen that he has passed. I am originally from Illinois from the Skokie region and was blessed to see this wonderful mans presentation of Chigago's most famous paranormal activites. I have always been fascinated by the paranormal and his presention was most intrigueing. I attended highschool in the years of 1978-1982 at Niles West highschool and I do not remember the exact year that I attended his presentation, but I will never forget it.

I am sure that he is in the Heavens and looking to see on how he can enchant us. God bless!

I was so shocked to learn of you passing. You helped me understand the "unnatural" happenings in my home and gave me great comfort. For that I will always be thankful.
Your friend, Joyce Sacha

Somehow this years Halloween appeared so empty, one of the biggest supporters of paranormal world is gone. I hope Rich you found Eddie S and are hanging out together. I remember you and Eddie on the air in the 70's esrly 80's, you guys made a scary subject be so fun & normal. I started years ago ghost hunting and paranormal research because of you two. God bless and embrace you. Thank you for every thing! I will miss you for, all of time.

Got to meet you glad I did.

The Halloween season just isn't the same without Mr. Crowe.

What a nice man. We took some tours on the yellow school bus,and later on the coach bus. We could always count on him to be interesting. And we always had a blast. He will be sorely missed. Many thoughts and prayers to his family and friends.

I never met him but appreciated his work. He will be missed.......

My condolences. I have taken many people on his tours. Both a Ghost Tour of chicago at Night, & China Town. He was excellent. He will be missed

I just found out yesterday that Richard Crowe had passed away. I am in such shock. I have gone on several Richard Crowe tours starting back in 1994. I went on every one of his tours several times, but I never did get to go on his Chinatown tour or any of his out of town tours. Richard was a sweet man with a huge heart. I loved his voice, his tours, and his love of all things supernatural. He is right at home in Resurrection Cemetery. I hope he is having some bloody mary's with Resurrection Mary. I will miss him dearly. :(

Richard: My friend since the 1980s. Enjoyed your friendship so much and will greatly miss you. Sharon Lindy

you have been a love of mine since we first met, a witty and shining star -
would have chosen you as a friend had we not been cousins through marriage.
your constant, enthusiastic stories, your wonderful voice, and knowing the best chinese/pizza places in town...that addd alot to a relationship. your sister joann, who over the years has been your best friend and confidant, your sister barb who will miss you, but mostly your mom- she herself was an 'individual'mike and i will miss you. rest eady, joann will take care of the furry babies. where ever you are, they are enjoying you already, i'm sure.

you will never be forgotten by us,ever.
cousins eileen and mike st. louis

I first heard Richard on Halloween night in either 1982 or 1983 when he was a guest on WGN, which apparently had a good signal for me to pick it up in Massachusetts. His yearly Halloween visits to WGN became a tradition for me; although, for too many years I was not able to tune the show in because of radio reception issues with various places I lived. The internet and DSL allowed me to listen live to his last WGN visit this past October. I have treasured tape recordings of some of his visits with Eddie Schwartz.

Richard was a super story teller with a rich voice that was perfect for radio and had an amazing knowledge of the history of Chicago and its vernacular lore. He also knew a great deal about the Celtic roots of Halloween and folklore from around the world. He was a walking history book, an expert on all things gangster in Chicagoland and popularized the legend of the ghostly Resurrection Mary. His personality drew you in and made you feel like you were visiting with an old friend, even though he was only a voice on the radio. He was a part of my world for more than half my life and brought so much delight to a lover of ghost stories and lore such as I am.

I feel terrible that he will no longer be around to enjoy his family and many friends, the haunted places he loved, and his collection of historical treasures, and of course his beloved cats. They must wonder what's become of their loving human. I hope they are kept together in a safe and happy home. I didn't know he was a cat person until I read some of the articles written after his passing. How wonderful that he loved them like they were his kids. I can relate to that. That he loved his dear pets so doesn't surprise me; he was a man of great heart. How I'd like to have met him!

Sitting in a room lit only by a jack-O-lantern and listening to Richard Crowe was one of my top favorite things in the world.

Rich, You will be missed! So glad we saw and took pics of some local ghosts together! :-)
Such fun times - Thank you for being you. Such great memories!
Cindy

Visitation Grade School Class of 1962 (Richs class) is planning its 50 yr reunion in Sept. Rich was notified & promised to attend. I believe I can speak for all the class when I say "We will miss you and Rest in Peace"
Pat (Murphy) Blevins

Deepest sympathies to Richard's family. Richard helped to inspire my interest and passion in Chicago history and folklore. He will be truly missed

Richard,
It was an honor meeting you, and going on a tour with you. You are one of the coolest people I have ever and will ever meet. I loved hearing your stories. I always enjoyed ghost stories, and legends so meeting you was a dream come true. You will always have a special place in my heart. I am happy that I know you now got to meet Resurrection Mary finally. I remember you telling me that is the one ghost you really wanted to see :). Rest In Peace Richard.

Recently I was seriously thinking of taking another of Rich's ghost tours. My first was great through St. Xavier U. Now it's too late. But I'll always remember Rich, a very interesting guy. Back in 1982 my friend and I did some "ghost research" in Rome for Rich at his suggestion. He was very appreciative that we went thru all that trouble - but it was no trouble at all. We wanted to see these things and go to the places Rich mentioned. My condolences to the Crowe family. Rich is my age, far too young to pass on.

Chicago has lost a one-of-a-kind person. My best friend and I were on one of the first tours, finding out much lore we hadn't known about, in spite of the fact that some places we went to were where our relatives were buried. He shared his best with us, first those at home, and then elsewhere. A gentleman and a scholar. May he rest in peace.

Dear Family & Friends of Richard all people of Chinatown will remember his gentle caring ways & admire his knowledge of Chinatown history for all time.
May God Bless you &I your family
Linda, Michele & Michael Young

I was so saddened to hear about the passing of Richard. I enjoyed many of his tours. My prayers are with him, his family and lovely cats

I was very saddened to hear about Richards passing. I always enjoyed his tours! You will be missed. My prayers are with him his family and his cats.

I went on a tour in 2010 and met Richard. I also remember my mom listening to him on the radio on Halloween night in the 80's telling Chicago ghost stories and guests calling in and telling him their experiences. He was a very nice man and did a lot for the city and suburbs through his tours. He will be deeply missed.

I am sorry to hear about the passing of Richard. I met him at the Gangster Convention in Chicago and found him to be a very sincere person. My condolences go out to his family. Tony Stewart

we went on many tours and also a trip to New Orleans with Richard I also worked at the Edinburgh Castle one of the stops on his tour I was always glad to see richard What a great story teller

Thank you Richard Crowe for all the tours and stories You will be so missed

My deepest condolences to the family of Richard Crowe. He was one of the most fascinating persons I have ever known.

I remember listening to Mr. Crowe's stories on the Ed Schwartz show in the late 70's and early 80's with my dad when I was growing up. I loved his stories and he was a GREAT storyteller! In the mid 80's, I was an editor of the St. Rita HS school newspaper, The Ritan, and I wanted to do a story on Mr. Crowe and his stories. Mr. Crowe was incredibly accommodating to me and spent hours letting me interview him. The result was a huge feature story in the paper that was loved by all. Mr. Crowe was a very good man and will be missed!

Dear Richard - Thank you so much for including me in plans last time I was in Chicago! I never would have imagined it would be the first and last time I would see you. What a great person. Thank you for the book. Thank you for the stories. Thank you for being a good friend to those dear to me (Joe, Terie, Ed). They speak so highly of you without exception. I will never get to experience one of your famous tours. I wish you joy and rest in passing to the other side. Hugs.

So very sorry to hear of Rich's passing. He was truly a Chicago treasure. First met him back when we were city planners in 1975. So happy to have had the chance to introduce him to many folks through parties and tours. Only sorry that our granddaughters didn't have the pleasure of meeting him. We'll miss you!
Joe and Kathy Van Teylingen

To Richard T. Crowe's Family,
May I express my deep sympathy to Richard's family. I believe I first met him at a talk at the Clearing Library and had him speak at Byrne School during one of our P.T. A. meeting. He was so interesting and knew all the local stories. He and I often talked on the phone many times over the years and shared family "Polish" ghost stories. I did go on his tours and enjoyed every one. I recently took an evening history-ghost tour in Galena and thought Richard would have enjoyed going on that tour. I will say a prayer for him when I go past the cemetery that he made famous with his stories of" Resurrection Mary". May he rest in peace.
Nona Cervenka

We would sometimes run into Richard at family wakes & funerals. He was a great story teller. We enjoyed his Halloween Supernatural Tour a few years back. So sorry to hear of his passing, he will be missed.

we have been on several ghost tours dating back from the eighties. Mr Crowe was very intertaining and respectful of his field. He always left you feeling like you had a nice evening visiting with him. Our last tour was last fall and he always gave something to his customers in the form of bumper stickers, pins, wooden nickels, and the last time very delicious ghost cookies. He was a real sweet kind man and he will be sorely missed. Oh Richard, you know all the answers now, if you could only give a tour. Rest In Peace

29 years ago I took my first "ghost hunt" with Richard and have enjoyed everyone of them since then! Now that you are on the other side I hope you will be the keeper of the paranormal world and look in on us occasionally! We will all miss you Richard and will be sadly missed but know you are still walking among us......

May your journey be a peaceful one. I am sure Rick will be there to meet you. You were such a wonderful man. I will miss you greatly.

Hello...
I am so sorry to hear of Richard's death.
We were friends back in 80's.
Richard traveled to Ireland and stayed with my relatives...I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers

Richard was the classic Chicago born and bred personality: self-made, one-of-a-kind, passionate, entrepreneurial and a great storyteller.  His unbridled passion to share "Chicago and all her stories" made us all richer in our appreciation of the city he loved.

Your bus tours were great. I loved listening to all your scary stories. You will be missed by many.

Chicago has truly lost a legend. Lee and I have lost a dear friend. Accepting your absence will be long and difficult. I will always cherish the Halloween story we had together in the Lerner papers in '95 and when Lee & I celebrated our 1st anniversary on your tour, your wedding gift to us. Our deepest sympathy to all of Richard's family, friends and fans. And any time you want to contact the living Richard, I am always open to you. (Nanci & Lee Darrow)

Richard,

I had been on a few tours with you and enjoyed them. Thank you for gift of learning about the supernatural.
May God Bless You!

Richard:
Thank you for all of the great times and memories from your bus and boat tours, as well as, those late nights of story telling on Ed Schwartz's show back in the 70's.
Rest In Peace, and we'll see you walking down Archer Ave some evening!

Richard,
I wish that I would heve been able to explore the land of Dracula with you. That would have been something always to be remembered. You will be missed by all that had the privilege to know you.

hi my name is joe ludwick i have seen mr.crowe a few time over the years and he told the best ghost storys he will be miss .

thank you Richard for the tours, lectures and programs...and thank you for the company..reast in peace

Roy Arvio

Richard,
We will miss you aboard the Skyline Queen and will remember you always. The staff and crew of Mercury, Chicago's Skyline Cruiseline. Anchors Aweigh!

So very sorry to learn that Rich has left us. I had the pleasure of being on a few of his Chicago tours, as well as one in New Orleans. He always kept everyone entertained and also proved himself a great historian and a true Chicago treasure.

You are ,and always will be, a Chicago Icon. Your spirit will live on forever in our hearts! I can't go passed the places from your tours and not think about you. You spoke so passionatley about the dead and the folk loars...and now you will be part of that loar!!! Thank you! See you around!

My deepest sympathy to Richard's family and precious pets. Rest in peace, Richard and thanks for all the great stories!

Rest in peace my friend. See you on the other side.

Carl the Undertaker

Dear Joann and Barb-
I was so sad to hear of Richards crossing. He was just
such a GREAT STORYTELLER !! I hosted a
Party at my home back in July
of 2001 and Rich was the guest speaker and storyteller
That night. It was a such a Great Night I had at least 30 guests that night and I still have so many people talk about what a TRULY ENJOYABLE EVENING THEY
HAD!!' Rich so loved the ghostly treats I had that night.
We spent an evening with you in February this year at a talk you gave we sat with Joann &
Rich for the dinner. I remember
many times swinging by your house to pickup copies of your
Book for people and the DVD!
Our families lived across the street from each other on ELIZABETH STREET !!!
Rich you liked storytelling and folklore , but your like turned into a Great Passion - I truly
BELIEVE that's why you seemed to have such a BIG
SMILE and A HEARTY LAUGH!!
You will be missed by many!!
GOD BLESS YOU RICH !!