In Loving Memory
Please send any photos of these Alumni that you may have
please send to: mski@jomodad.com




Ritchie Barbito
( Sophmore Photo )

Ritchie leaves behind a son and a daughter

He joined the Army right out of High School. He was a sergeant in special forces and was involved in the Iran hostage incident and a lot of other stuff you don't hear about in the news. He was involved in a helicopter crash and severely injured his back. After years and a lot of
struggles, he was going through seizures and severe pain. He wasn't able to drive or work. He died in bed at his stepmother's house.

They never really determined if he took too much medication or died as a result of a seizure, or something related. When he died it looked like he fell asleep and never woke up.

This information courtesy of: His friend Mark Billings.

Corrections and additional information

I am writing to let you know that the information you have supplied on your web-site for Rich is not 100% accurate. Rich was married twice, he also has a very beautiful daughter (Sabrina) who just turned 21 from his first marriage. He was not in the Special Forces. He was an Airborne Ranger (BIG DIFFERENCE). Rich's daughter has followed in his footsteps. She is also in the military.

Rich's Death Certificate states that he died from an accidental OD. The VA had kept changing his meds and he must have forgotten that he had taken them. He did however, die in his sleep.

His daughter flew out to CA from Massachusetts to have her father's remains taken care of. The military also honored his daughter with a flag.

Just a little note, Rich was a wonderful man, a hard worker and a loving father. He never lost sight of the meaning of family. His family (both his daughter and his son meant the world to him) and he is greatly missed.

This information courtesy of: Karen Barbito, Rich's 1st wife.