About Richard

Richard's Stats

Age: 37
Height: 6’1” Eyes: Blue Hair: Blond
Background: German, British, Canadian 
Education: BA Finance and Economics, MA International Affairs, MBA International Business
Occupation: Management Consultant 
Favorites: Movie: Hunt for Red October/ Food: Stuffed Green Peppers / Dessert: Lemon Bars 
Hobbies: Camping, Scuba diving, collecting cactuses, building things

Richard's Feelings on Fatherhood

“Father” and “fatherhood” are words that I feel get used too lightly today. I believe that fatherhood requires the same level of dedication and sacrifice as motherhood. If more men were ready and willing to bear these responsibilities I think there would be a lot fewer troubled children and problems in society. Many years ago, I set a goal to become one of the best fathers I could be. I have discovered that it is infinitely more rewarding and more challenging than I could ever have imagined. Here are a few of the things I feel are important for fathers to do.

• Become interested in the child’s interest. I learned from trying to strengthen relationships with my six younger siblings how important it was to reach outside of yourself and learn to love what they love. I spent hours with my youngest brother learning about football and baseball (I was a runner) to understand his passion for those sports. I created the ‘Arrrrh’ pirate club with my sister Rachel, as the only two siblings whose name started with the letter R. I discovered that no matter how different our basic personality was, demonstrating interest in the things they loved always brought us closer.

• Respect the child as a full person. I recall being surprised by a friend once telling me I could ignore his 3 year old daughter who had invited me to the “kids” table during dinner.  There wasn’t much legroom, but I fit. Children are just shorter people. They might still be learning, but then, so am I. It bothers me when people dismiss children and youth simply because they aren’t adults. I believe being treated as a full person helps children develop into responsible adults, and builds trusting relationships between fathers and children.

• Take time to teach them and pass on traditions. My own mother read 'The Chronicles of Narnia' to us before bed, and it is one of my favorite childhood memories. As a young, single professional, I bought an entire box of Little Golden Books on eBay. Why? Because it was the only one that had 'Mr. Bell’s Fix-It Shop,' a story my father read to me when I was a little boy, and that I knew I wanted to read to my own children someday. And they LOVE IT!  

Letty Describes Richard

I call Richard my one-in-a-million, and say that it took me 27 years to find someone because I was waiting for an impossible set of contrasting interests and skills that do not usually come in the same package!  After graduating top of his MBA class, he fel in love with a job as a management consultant.  However, he is not afraid to lose the suit, and get his hands dirty fixing the washing machine, or laying tile for the kitchen and bathroom.  He is spontaneous and fun and always up for a crazy adventure, but is organized, thoughtful, and financially savvy. He is light-hearted, endlessly loving and completely non-judgmental, but is hard-working and ambitious. In fact, I’ve never met anyone who works so hard striving for excellence in both his family relationships and his career.

Richard has a deep love of nature and the outdoors, enjoys camping and hiking and is very involved in Boy Scouts. He also thoroughly appreciates theatre performances and symphony concerts with me. One of the great strengths he brings to our marriage is the ability to notice all the details of the beautiful earth around us, from changing fall colors and lovely sunsets to bird watching in the back yard as the robins shower in the waterfall of our fish pond. A defining characteristic of Richard is his curiosity. He delights in learning how to do new things, stays up to date on business, environmental and economic trends, and has an uncanny ability to REMEMBER everything he’s ever read.  

Family comes first for Richard, and he calls or emails EACH of his 12 siblings on a regular basis. He is incredibly loving and supportive and involved in their lives, and is frequently called for advice or just a listening ear. And he truly is a pied piper where ALL CHILDREN are concerned. Before coming over our kids friends always want to know if Richard will be there to play. (His specialty is ‘Jurassic Park Raptor Hide-and-Come-Chase-Me.’) He is tender and patient, and a whiz at diaper changing. From the day I first knew I loved him, I could not wait to watch Richard be a father to my children. 

 Richard Thru 37

Unlike my wife, people never ask if they know me from somewhere, or what my ethnicity is. I am obviously Scandinavian, British, German-ish looking. In fact, I’m so fair-skinned I can get sunburned in Missouri in January. I can’t remember the last time I went swimming without trunks AND a shirt. And occasionally a hat too. I love that Letty looks so ethnic, especially when I start speaking Spanish in Central and South American countries and people immediately assume it’s because my wife is Latina. We make a rather comical contrast. Goering is a German name and means ‘spear.’ Since there are lots of correct pronunciations I’m pretty easy-going about how people say it.

Being in the middle of 13 kids growing up in rural Iowa definitely gave me a unique perspective on life. We loved to camp and hike and learned early on how to work hard. We mowed 7 acres of grass, pruned orchard trees, mulched and weeded the garden, and canned vegetables. And that was all before we were ten years old. 

As an adolescent, my first paying job was delivering newspapers, followed by de-tassling corn in the Iowa cornfields, and in high school painting barns in the summers. My family is loud and fun, and lives close enough for get-togethers several times a year. You can read more about my family by clicking on this link or the tab above.

I received my undergraduate from Truman State University in Missouri with a double major in Finance and Economics. During college I took a two year break to serve an LDS Mission in Asuncion, Paraguay. After I graduated, I moved to St. Louis and started working as a financial analyst for Boeing. However, I love school and learning, so it wasn’t long before I started evening classes studying my Masters of International Affairs at Washington University. 

It was during this time that Letty and I reconnected again, and I wasted no time letting her know I wanted exclusive dating rights. A year after our marriage I started my MBA at University of Chicago Booth School of Business in their part-time weekend program. During my time in business school we were able to spend a semester attending London Business School in the UK. That was the first opportunity Letty had ever had to spend time with me when I wasn't simultaneously working full-time AND enrolled in school, and we both loved it, enjoying all the time we had to just hang out with each other. It made both of us so grateful we had married our best bud.

After my graduation from Chicago Booth I landed a job with one of the top international Management Consulting firms. I love this work because it satisfies my curiosity in new ways every day. I get to learn about and work in several different industries and different companies every year, and each day brings new challenges and puzzles to solve. My co-workers are hyper-intelligent, and are fascinating conversationalists. I am grateful for the rare and lucky privilege to be able to say I enjoy going to work every day.

I have a deep love of the ocean, and my favorite vacations are ones where I get to go scuba diving. Right after I met Letty I took a week long live-aboard diving trip to the Bahamas, which remains my favorite vacation to-date. (Although Disneyworld with Letty is a close second). In my free time I love working in the yard and garden, taking care of my cactus collection, and building things in our garage.  My favorite form of exercise is running, and my adorable wife tries very hard to make it an activity we can do together (don’t tell her, but her ‘run’ is about my ‘fast walk.’) I don’t watch very much TV, but enjoy watching The Amazing Race with Letty and plotting how we can get picked to be on it. My family is very musical, and I love to sing. I also play the clarinet. I enjoy classical music, especially film soundtracks, and Letty buys me a new one every year at Christmas, along with another cow ornament for my cow-themed Christmas tree. 

Richard's Cow Christmas Tree

Richard's Cactus Collection: L to R: 

King Alexander Hamilton the  Third.

King Alexander as our Christmas Cactus the first year we were married.