“George” Beck:  the wife of Bill Beck.  I met Rich at 15 and remember him running up and down steps, out of the garage to get food or more drinks at all his house parties at Xmas. I truly believe I was at that party already when he didn’t remember the party was at his house. As the years went by, Rich would stop by and do magic tricks.  He would never tell me how the card I shuffled and picked (which I put back in the deck) got stuck in the middle (OUTSIDE) of my sliding glass door!!  Still blows my mind.    Fast forward in time, my husband tricked me into going on one of the guys Caribbean sailing trips with Rick and Rich in the Caribbean. Rich entertained the locals with magic tricks.  Their smiles stuck in the laughter of surprise will always be present in my mind When my son moved to Tahoe, I got to spend time with Rich and Mary at their club pool on the Lake with my grandkids. Rich gathered the kayaks for the kids, fed them well and I have a special memory of him playing cards with my grandson.  He didn’t cheat but he did tell me the story of the first time he played poker with the Tahoe Tennis guys.  He magically whipped their butts until they caught on he could make cards appear and disappear.  I can hear him laughing now.  

Dear Family and Friends of Dr. Richard Layton…….Rich Layton………..Dr. Magic,   One of my first recollections of Rich was on a Saturday morning pick up football game our sophomore year on the high school grounds.  I was running around the end with the football and bang down I went from this skinny kid.  So I asked for the ball again and went around the end again to meet this guy again…….this time I went down harder and my nose started to bleed………that is how this special friendship started.  Rich went to all Catholic schools until he joined us at Mt. Lebanon High School and that is when our friendship began.   We did so many things together including the Chrystal Ball dancing place I think in Bridgeville.  During college we always saw each other at all the parties at The Christmas break and listening to the latest Beatles Album.…..one of those parties was at his home. When I was home in the summer we hung out or I went to South or North Park where Rich was a life guard.  I remember one summer he had some Playboy Bunnies from Chicago join us at one of his keg parties at the park.   After we graduated from college……Rich was busy studying to be a dentist and I was in pilot training getting ready for Viet Nam.  So there was a large gap from 1966 until Rich came back to his first high school reunion….sometime in the late 70’s.  We had a great group of friends from high school and Rich was doing his magic for all of us and there were three of us playing our guitars. It was a special reunion of so many special high school friends.  I remember Rich crying at that reunion when we were saying goodbye……we could not believe how special our bond was and we were sad so many years went by without even exchanging Christmas cards as neither of us knew were the other person lived.   Since the mid 80’s I made many trips out to San Diego to visit Mary and Rich and have met so many special friends of the Layton’s and wish I was there now to say hi.  Rich and I had two special Back Road Bike Trips, one with Mark Massey who is reading this, which was in Napa Valley and Rich and I did one in Martha’s Vineyard that happened to be when the tragic 9/11 attack occurred.  We sailed with High School friends in the Chesapeake Bay and had a 10 day sail trip out of Grenada.  These are just some of the high lights of our special friendship………the most fun, were the tennis tournaments in Boca Raton put on Northwest Air Lines.  The trophies we won are still proudly on display down here in Boca Raton. Without a doubt each of our high school reunions were very special too. Our high school friends are very close and we have all stayed in touch.   To Rich Layton…..a professional when working, an entertainer and sometimes even in the office, and a friend who would do anything for you.  He loved his family and took such great care of them……..Mary, the love of his life….so many times the two of us have spoken of how Mary is still here and the only surviving double cell transplant patient…He called me crying when her harvested stems cells were ruined when the refrigeration unit quit working…he was crying because he knew he would be losing the special dear love of his life.  I was afraid to call back for weeks……but Rich called me with the exciting news they were able to harvest some more stem cells and Mary was doing great…Praise the Lord for sure……   I remember reading the newspaper article on Mary at the 10 year anniversary of her recovery as the only survivor of a double stem cell transplant……..anyhow…….he loved Mary…….he love life….and he sure made all of our lives better by his upbeat personality and humor.  He was a joy to be around. We have lost a very very dear friend and special person.  Thanks Rich……we had one hell of a run and you left me with memories that will make me smile till I join you…….God Bless the Layton Family……..Miss you Rich,  Love, Rick. ….

The part about Rich and his parties. remined me of a story.. It was a Friday night and Rich picked me up at my house. Rich said "I heard there is a party on somewhere in Lebo" So we started out going to various homes of friends we knew. Ed Russ, No Ed is not home went out for the evening. Then on to Mitch Youngling house , Rich was certain that Mitch would know where the party was being held. Again the same thing sorry Rich Mitch isn't home he went to a party. Off to Doug Booz's house and his mom told us I thought he was with you guys. We were told Doug had gone to a party. The saga continues , Larry Shekell, Dave Howe and Bill Beck . We found no party and it wasn't because we didn't try. Rich tell me " what the hell lets go over my house and drink a few beers after we lift weights. As we come down Lakemont drive to the Layton house we see cars parked everywhere. Rich turns to me and says "oh shit that's right the party is a my house. We go in and never said a word about our collective stupidity. So many great memories. George Thuransky

From: George Watt In August of 2015 my wife Kim and I (high school classmate George Watt) accepted an invitation from Rich to visit with him and Mary at their Lake Tahoe home.  Rich had scheduled some tennis matches with his friend Kern Schumacher and one of Kern's friends.  So when we got to Kern's home court, Rich, always looking for an edge in his frequent matches with Kern and his tennis playing pals, knew Kim was a pretty good player, (think ringer), and younger, from playing with Kim at some of Rich's high school reunions.  So when Rich, Kern, Kim and one of Kern's male players took the court and negotiated teams, Rich, always the gentleman, and feigning to be sacrificing himself, said; "I'll take Kim" - translation, "I'll take the girl".  Rich and Kim proceeded to whip up on Kern and his partner to the tune of 6 - 0, to Rich's great delight as if you knew Rich, he wasn't just satisfied with winning, he made sure he taunted and trash talked Kern the entire match.  The attached photo is hard to "read" but Rich wanted to have a photo taken of him and Kim next to the scoreboard.  Notice Kern is  fretting in the background.  If you asked Rich to describe what is in the photo he would probably say; "notice the little ball up near the number 6 on the right side?  That one belongs to Kim and me.  If you will look on the left side, it is hard to see Kern's ball but it is in the lower left corner opposite the number 0."  We will miss you Rich.  Continue to hit those aces and taunt those tennis players in heaven. George and Kim Watt