Richard A. Przybylinski

December 14, 1951—February 15, 2023

Richard Alan Przybylinski, 71, passed away at home in Virginia Beach listening to music and cared for by his loving wife, son, family and friends on February 15, 2023 due to a rare aggressive cancer that revealed itself on Christmas Day. Against odds, Richard successfully battled small cell lung cancer in 2010. This new cancer was an unrelated beast.

Richard was born to Neil Przybylinski (Milford and Bridgeport, Connecticut) and Jean Hardt (Cornwall and Troy, Vermont) on December 14, 1951, in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Growing up in the seaside town of Milford, CT, Richard enjoyed friendships with a delightful group of musically inclined friends. They practiced in family basements, played chess on the town green and made their way to Woodstock fortified with a loaf of bread and jar of peanut butter. Academically, Richard probably skipped more classes than he attended though was tenacious in search of knowledge independently. The Yale Bookstore and area libraries were his favorite away-from-school excursions to quench his thirst.

In his teens, Richard was a vital help to his working single Mom. He raised his baby sister and maintained the house from meals to repairs armed with knowledge scooped up at the library.  His favorite respites away from the house were at area diners for tea and Boston Crème Pie and on hiking the Long Trail. He biked for sport and transportation and didn’t find a need for a driver’s license until he was 21.

Richard took his love of music and desire for freedom on the road in the early 70’s as a multi-talented Roadie for Ricky and the Rockets, a touring 50’s performance band. Sporting a long blonde ponytail, he mastered sound boards and lights, tuned instruments and navigated the band truck up and down the east coast and into the mid-west.

He returned from the road with his suitcase filled with songs that he wrote between gigs and enjoyed a brief stay with his mom and her new husband on the family farm in Cornwall, Vermont. Enjoying Vermont, he found his own place in Cornwall and was the popular bus driver and resourceful maintenance man for Shoreham Elementary School, maintained the grounds and facilities at Middlebury High School and sports fields at Middlebury College.

Richard met his wife Patricia at a Middlebury, VT restaurant in 1977. He often dined solo and enjoyed salads and beer cheese soup and she was smitten. They were married on February 4, 1978, in Lincoln, VT during the blizzard that froze the church organ while warming all hearts. They soon welcomed a beautiful son, Richard Patrick, who enjoyed the sounds of live bluegrass music before he was born. With family growing, Richard sought additional work opportunities and learned about car parts by disassembling cars at Valley Salvage in Charlotte, VT and was quickly recruited by Burlington Foreign Car Parts in Shelburne, VT as an inside sales rep. He earned a great reputation as a highly knowledgeable resource locally and up and down the eastern seaboard.

Throughout all his work gigs, Richard continued to play music and was the lead singer and guitarist for Middlebury College based Bluegrass Band—Daddy Dinky and the Barhar Brothers, played solo at the first Middlebury Festival on the Green, ran an open mic program weekly at the infamous Sheik biker bar on King Street in Burlington, performed in the greater Burlington area with The Missing Links, met with industry executives on Music Row in Nashville and played solo to an appreciative audience at the legendary Bluebird Café, Nashville. Eddie Tidwell of Roger Murrah Music appreciated Richard’s catchy melodies and Thomas Caine of BMI proclaimed Richard’s lyrics to be pure Americana.

In 2000, Richard relocated with his wife Patricia to Austin, Texas. At age 50, he once again studied textbooks, learned computer applications and operations, passed all certifications, was hired by Unisys Corporation in Austin as a Help Desk Representative and was quickly promoted as the company Knowledge Base Administer writing articles that reps relied on to support clients all over the world. He enjoyed travels to Amsterdam and Barcelona to meet with clients and they welcomed him into their homes.

Living and working in Austin—the world music capital— was a perfect environment for Richard. He got a kick out of attending Nancy Griffith’s and Eliza Gilkison’s tapings at Austin City Limits, met Texas Swing fiddler Johnny Gimble at the Continental Club, enjoyed Bluegrass musician Del McCoury and cowboy outlaw Ray Wyle Hubbard at the University of Texas Cactus Cafe, Bakersfield-styled The Derailers at the Broken Spoke, yodeling Don Walser at Threadgills and Django Reinhardt-inspired Hot Club of Cowtown at the Armadillo. He loved all music and Texas Swing particularly moved him. The Beatles and The Band were familiar old friends and influences.

He retired from Unisys in 2011 after battling lung cancer and returned home to Vermont.

In 2021 after the isolation of the Northeast Kingdom and Covid, Richard and his wife Patricia returned to the south that appealed to him during his time on the road with the band. Richard enjoyed living 20 minutes away from two beautiful smart bilingual granddaughters in Virginia Beach and appreciated weekend visits to the ocean and strawberry picking, kite flying, barnyard bunnies, aviation museum egg drop flyovers, aquarium adventures and sleepovers with beanbag chairs and popcorn boxes on movie nights. He loved his granddaughter Genevieve’s art and wit and granddaughter Mikaela’s sunny nature. They proclaimed him to be the best grandpa ever.

Richard continued pursuing his love of music right up until his recent illness. While cancer treatment in 2010 caused damage to his fingers making guitar playing difficult, he could still work a computer keyboard and was enjoying his home studio and MIDI files and delighted in mastering music theory in his new digital compositions. He sang in his sleep.

He loved gardening, heirloom tomatoes, freshly dug potatoes, and French breakfast radishes. A good day found him toasting a hot dog next to the garden and sharing a bite with his dog du jour. He enjoyed a ritual of making his own vinaigrette at the table like his Grandfather Benjamin. He loved Pepe’s Pizza of New Haven, CT, and Cherry Garcia ice cream. He loved Farmers’ Markets, sweet watermelon and olives. He loved treasure hunts of the vintage kind. He enjoyed amusing his wife with his shadow puppet proficiency and perfected Charles de Gaulle shadows. He was a gentle, brilliant, resourceful, patient, honest, talented, unpretentious husband, father, grandfather and friend and will be deeply, deeply missed.

Richard was predeceased by his mother Jean Harriet Hardt, Jean’s husband Henry Charles Hardt, his father Neil Stanley Przybylinski, his brother Neil Edward Przybylinski, his brother’s-in-law Dale Layhee, Michael Burns, Gary Gans, and Brian Hunt, his sister-in-law Carol Klebanoff, niece Kara Klebanoff, mother-in-law Genevieve D. Burke and father-in-law James F. Burke Jr.

Richard is survived by his adoring wife of 45 years, Patricia Przybylinski and admiring son, Richard Patrick Przybylinski, of Virginia Beach (“Jei” Ju Youl Park), granddaughters Genevieve Seo Jin Przybylinski and Mikaela Ha Jin Przybylinski; his brother Stanley Przybylinski (Sue Brady) of Evanston, IL and sister Jeanne Layhee of Felts Mills, NY.

He was so loved by his sisters in law Maureen Burns of Shoreham, NY, Barbara Gans of Boca Ratan, FL, Brenda Hunt of Colchester, VT, Catherine Noel (Jim) of Columbia, MO, MaryAnn Przybylinski of Bridgeport, CT and brothers in law James F Burke III (Stephanie) of Miller Place, NY, and Terry Burke (Lynn) of Port Jefferson, NY.

Richard loved his cousins and making memories on great trips with Robert K. Mason (Shelton, CT), Patty Mason (Bridgeport, CT) and Michael Mason (Bridgeport, CT).

Richard enjoyed following the vibrant lives of many wonderful nieces and nephews around the country: Benjamin Przybylinski, Elizabeth Przybylinski, Gregory Przybylinski (Kim), Christopher Przybylinski, Eric Przybylinski (Carolyn), Andrew Przybylinski (Shoshana), Zachary Wilkerson, Sarah Layhee, Cassie Layhee, Rachel Layhee, David Klebanoff (Chelsea Martin), Julia Martin (Slade), Maura Burns (John Hubbard), Laurie Burke (Nick Russo), Clare Burke, Audrey Burke, Jaclyn Wortley (Matt), Cathryn Gans, Erica Hutchins (Ethan), Ryan Hunt (Elizabeth), Wynde Noel, and Kelli Noel (Travis Palmer).

Honoring Richard’s wishes, there will not be a memorial service. Friends and family gathered round during Richard’s final days traveling across the country toting favorite pizza, juices, guitars and heart-shaped cookies. Many sent notes and daily jokes. Big love. Big hearts. All so appreciated. Please share Richard’s story with your friends and family.

Should you wish to make a memorial contribution, donations to Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM) “myhaam.org/donate” would be so welcomed. Richard loved history and respected those who formed and fought for our tender Democracy. Please consider supporting reality-based candidates who believe in democracy and equal rights for all. Peace out.