- Date Of Birth: August 25, 1957
- Date Of Death: August 13, 2010
- State: Illinois
Richard E. Buchanan, 52, of Foster City, CA and formerly of Jacksonville, IL died early Friday, August 13, 2010 at his residence.
He was born August 25, 1957 in Jacksonville, IL; the son of Bill Wright and Dorothy Ellen Houston Buchanan. He married Lisa Zacharewicz on October 12, 1985 in University City, MO and she survives.
He is also survived by his parents of Jacksonville; a sister, Joy E. Buchanan of Midland, MI; two brothers, John M. Buchanan (wife, Mary Ardis) of Jacksonville and Robert L. Buchanan (wife, Lynda) of Glen Carbon; a nephew, Joel Buchanan (wife, Kristen) of Jacksonville; and four nieces, Megan Buchanan of Morton and Caitlin, Lizbeth, and Emily Buchanan, all of Glen Carbon.
A 1975 graduate of Jacksonville High School, Rich attended the University of Illinois at Champaign where he was an active member of Alpha Kappa Lambda.
Richard’s focused ambitions and incredible knack to learn any subject and adapt to any field led him in an adventurous and successful career. The road began as a Beecham pharmaceutical rep in Kansas City where he quickly learned the trade and was quickly promoted up the ranks. He would have had a successful career in the pharmaceutical industry if it had not been for the fact that he developed a passion and talent for computers. This led Rich to California where he joined a computer display company called SuperMac in sales and had his first taste of the fast paced world of Silicon Valley start-ups. He was hooked on the exhilaration of the experience and continued to another computer display company called Radius where he honed his skills in sales and product marketing again, leaving his mark and building a solid and successful team. He joined a computer audio company called Creative Labs as Director of Product Marketing and due to his keen insights and talent to “close the deal” was promoted quickly to General Manager.
Rich then joined a series of computers graphics companies such as Rendition, Raycer Graphics, and Sling Media as VP of Marketing. Due to his passion and intelligence, he was a key contributor to the successful sales of these startups to Micron Computer, Apple Computer and Echostar (DISH Networks), respectively. Rich then joined Ooma as Chief Marketing Officer and successfully changed the business model and opened up new opportunities for the company to succeed.
The most consistent and admirable thing about Rich was his ability to bring successful and passionate people together that wanted to succeed not only for themselves, but to make Rich happy and proud. Rich was the consummate mentor, therapist, and friend and in doing what he did best, touched and changed lives for the better.
Richard also had a passion for woodworking, racing automobiles, electronics, and collecting “boy toys”. An eagle scout, he valued his time in scouting and the principles embodied by the scouting program. He possessed a unique ability to connect and communicate with children of all ages.
