Season for Caring recipient dies from cancer, wished to be with his wife as long as possible
Nicole VillalpandoCharles and Nicole Richard spent their final Valentine's Day together last week. Overnight on Saturday, Charles Richard, 50, died from lung cancer.
The Richards were one of 12 families featured in the 2023 Statesman Season for Caring program, which raises money to help people served by local nonprofits. The Richards were nominated by Austin Palliative Care, which had been providing pain control for Charles as his cancer progressed and spread.
Even after hospice care was suggested, Charles Richard intended to fight the cancer to be with his wife as long as possible.
"It's not the end of my life yet," he said in January. "I'm not even going to entertain that."
For him, the most important thing was not his treatment, but to make sure Nicole continued to have a place to live. The couple came here in 2020 to care for her father, who also had cancer and later died.
The couple built a life here. Charles loved driving a tow truck. Nicole was considering her next career after leaving nursing to take care of her father.
Read more:Austin husband with stage IV lung cancer goes through savings | Season for Caring
Then, in June, Charles Richard received the advanced-stage lung cancer diagnosis and began treatments.
“Have you ever heard that tug in your heart? … It’s like when you get real scared," Charles Richard described getting his diagnosis. "You feel a loud bang, and it goes from your chest to your stomach. It felt like that.”
He expected to survive cancer and return to his tow truck, as well as his passion for screen printing.
Nicole Richard now needs help with cremation services. As for her future? She says it's either getting her nursing license in Texas or an aesthetician license. To help, contact Austin Palliative Care, a subsidiary of Hospice Austin, 512-397-3360, option 3, austinpalliativecare.org.
About Season for Caring
To find out more about the Statesman's Season for Caring program, go to statesman.com/seasonforcaring.