Martin Richard, age 8

picture from ABC news

 

Information from Huffington post via the Dorchester Reporter, Boston globe, people.

 

...Martin's father Bill Richard took the podium and delivered stirring remarks about his son. Richard, who wore a button on his suit lapel emblazoned with peace symbol, spoke for more than 10 minutes.  Bill recalled that as the family watched the marathon runners pass by, Martin had asked his mother how old you had to be to run in the race. Martin, his dad said confidently, would have definitely run Boston some day. In fact, Martin did run in a marathon-related road race along Boylston Street on the Saturday before the bombing— and Bill recalled watching his son sprinting towards the finish line, passing older kids. Martin was an outstanding and curious student who loved astronomy, math and solving complex problems at Neighborhood House Charter School. He was well-known for assisting younger students and settling disputes, loved playing and winning at Monopoly, and was a car enthusiast. Martin was also a gifted athlete, who was already lean and muscular at age 8 and a standout on the playing fields of Dorchester, where he participated in soccer, baseball, street hockey and flag football leagues. Even in inclement weather, Martin favored spending time outside shooting hoops to watching TV.

Martin Richard was a huge fan of hockey, especially his beloved Boston Bruins. Even though he was not yet a skater, Martin dreamed of someday being a hockey goalie. He loved the chants that would erupt from the stands at the Boston Garden and, on Sunday morning, Bill Richard led the St. Ann crowd in what may have been a first at the Catholic parish: A chant of "Mar-tin!, Mar-tin!" rang out for about 20 seconds.

Martin's name was invoked throughout the hour-and-a-half liturgy, which was led by Fr. Sean Connor, the pastor at St. Ann's who has been ministering to the Richard family since their ordeal began. Fr. Connor, a former police officer who is known for his sense of humor during Mass, set the tone early— telling the Mass-goers that there would be no collection at the Mass, but that "singing is required and being happy is required."


***
Kind hearted with an infectious smile. Third grader who the girls had a crush on. He was nice to the girls. A great great kid. Bicycled, basketball, hockey. "No more hurting people. Peace."


http://richardfamilyfund.org/

http://www.thenhcs.org/    Martin Richard's school. Direct payment to his memorial fund.

On November 1st, our family will play Monopoly together in Martin's memory.