Ricky "Rick" Harvey Dearr, 69, of Salt Lake City, UT passed away on March 23rd, 2024 from complications due to melanoma. He is preceded in death by his mother Erline Dearr and father Marvin Dearr, brother-in-law Ron Atwood, and best friend Jim Kimmel. He is survived by his sister Robin Atwood, wife Paula, four daughters; Laura, Melissa, Danielle and Kimberly Vent, son-in-law Marcus and grandson, Morgan Vent.
Rick was born on October 11th, 1954 in San Francisco, CA. Throughout his life he moved frequently across the states and to Germany due to his father being a dental surgeon for the U.S. Army. His traveling didn't stop there; he moved from California to Utah in 1972 where he attended BYU the next year. He met Paula on March 23rd, 1977 at a disco where he caught her mother's eye first. She knew a great dancer when she saw one and pointed him out to Paula. Later that year they married on September 1st, 1977 and celebrated 46 years of marriage last year.
In Utah he built a house for his growing family, though his extensive travels were just beginning from California, Washington State, New York, North Dakota, to Hawaii. For business and pleasure the man enjoyed many a cruise which brought him to places in Mexico and the Caribbean islands. Hawaii held a special place in his heart, he vacationed, worked and even honeymooned; the shimmering waves that crashed against the shore inspired endless opportunities.
His career consisted of a four-plus page resume, starting with owning his own school photography company which was just the start of combining his passions and business. He worked at gaming and software companies like Acclaim and MicroQue where he held titles like V.P. of Production and Project Manager. He owned a gas station (The Cedar Valley Country Store) and managed a movie theater. He was part of the team that created the book Cash in a Flash: Real Money in No Time, and capped off his career as a real estate coach. Rick was an entrepreneur at heart and started a few businesses over the course of his life, including Sister Moon Games, Firehorse Investments, and RnR Marketing. True to his nature, if you mentioned almost any idea, he would find a way you could make money from it. At a young age in Germany, he even charged admission to an abandoned building to shoot BB guns at soda can targets. He was never not making money.
One of Rick's loves was photography which started in college with taking pictures of sporting events, namely basketball. He enjoyed 3D animation and even had a specialized monitor back in the day specifically for it. He co-developed the first joystick prototype and fan for the Apple II. Rick liked video games like Starcraft and Red Dead Online which he played with his daughters. He enjoyed sci-fi and westerns, his favorites being Battlestar Galactica and Hondo. Two of his favorite hobbies were snorkeling and scuba diving which he seemed to do whenever he was offered an ocean to do it in. A favorite place to be and thing to do was vacationing at Disneyland with his family; his
oldest daughters had the pleasure of annual passes and he and Paula would pretend they were driving to dinner only to surprise the girls with an evening in the park. His two youngest got the pleasure of a week-long stay over the holidays two years in a row.
As a father, Rick triumphed. His legacy is the enduring and precious memories his daughters will forever hold deep in their hearts. He was always there to pick up the phone and pick up the pieces when you needed help. His big belly hug could soothe your pain away. The life lessons, unwavering support and security, dad jokes, his general wit and humor, and profound unconditional love will never fade away, but instead live on through their lives and his grandson's. His daughters wouldn't be where they are and who they are without him.
Rick was charming and goofy, optimistic and encouraging. The man made friends with anyone and everyone, always seeing the best in people. He told fascinating stories, cracked dad jokes whenever he could, and always kept a sense of humor. He was the light in the darkness and the loss of him is astronomical. It can't truly be captured in words just who he was or what he meant to us. Our sweet Dad will be severely missed.
We love you Daddy, see ya later alligator!
There will be a Celebration of Life gathering for Rick on Friday, March 29th from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM, in the Chateau at Le Jardin, 1910 Dimple Dell Road, Sandy, Utah 84092. Hawaiian shirts are encouraged!
To watch the zoom recording of Rick's Celebration of Life, please click on the tab above that says "Watch Service" or follow this link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/aAZ75OvXL_q6ABv6OHnEmpxWvqRi9Qe3ynRFn5Z0Mqwa43U77nwsav6WjXo_hPiv.TyA535AompjbCkDj?startTime=1711735254000