DBD Mourns the Passing of Richard Durrett
The long-time DFW sports writer collapsed and died suddenly on Tuesday.
We at Defending Big D are tremendously sad to learn of the sudden passing of Richard Durrett.
Durrett was a fixture on the Stars beat for about a decade, whether he was writing about the team for the Dallas Morning News or ESPN Dallas. He collapsed and died suddenly on Tuesday.
He covered a variety of other sports as well and made a positive impression on everyone he came across.
Several of us on the DBD staff knew Richard, at least professionally. I mostly crossed paths with him when I was just breaking into the business while Brad and Brandon ran into him in the AAC press box and other Stars events. I think I speak for all of us when I say he was one of the kindest, most genuine men we knew.
One of my assignments for a newswriting class back in college was to interview a person I wanted to be like in my career. I couldn't pick and ended up choosing two guys, one of whom was Durrett. He gave me a solid 20-30 minute phone interview when he didn't have to do that for a no-one college kid, and he remembered our conversations for the next few years when I ended up alongside him in the press box for some events.
As you can imagine, many in the DFW sports world are mourning Durrett tonight. There are several extremely touching tributes out there on Twitter. I've included a few below to show what an impact he had.
Most accurate word to describe Richard Durrett is kind. You would not believe how kind he was. I couldn't believe it. So sad for his family.
— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) June 18, 2014
Richard was the kind of person that when his name popped up on caller ID, you subconsciously smiled because he was so positive & interested
— Chuck Greenberg (@chuckgreenberg) June 18, 2014
Richard lit up the press box at the AAC. Loved the Stars. Loved to laugh and have fun. Talented writer. So young. So engaging.
— DefendingBigD (@DefendingBigD) June 18, 2014
Richard Durrett was such a good writer, such a good person, such a good friend. I'll miss him very much, and so will the rest of the world.
— Mike Heika (@MikeHeika) June 18, 2014
Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, including his wife and two young children, and many, many friends.
