In Memory of Richard Alan Kosmacher ’82
Richard Alan Kosmacher ’82 passed away at age 66 on May 31, 2025, in Champaign, Illinois, from complications of a fall.
Born at Long Island Jewish Hospital in New York as the third child in a family that would eventually include four. His father, Kenny, was an avid sports fan, and Richard became one as well, as did all his siblings. Baseball was #1, and as a child, he played in the Cedarhurst Little League.
Richard discovered his passions for cycling, photography, and tennis during high school. Cycling led to thousands of miles of ambitious journeys in the U.S. and Europe, scaling mountains (Green, Rockies, Sierras, and Alps ), hugging coasts, and crossing borders. He was accepted into the photojournalism program at the Rochester Institute of Technology but opted to pursue a political science degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The UW and the liberal arts fed his voracious appetite for learning. Perhaps Richard’s favorite academic outcome was the unexpected friendship he struck up with his jazz history professor, the internationally acclaimed bassist Richard Davis. Richard also fell in love with the southern Wisconsin landscape, where he frequently cycled and hiked.
Richard’s entrepreneurial spirit emerged after college. In the following two decades he set up shop for his various businesses in New York City, Boston, Baltimore, Cleveland, Dallas, St. Louis, and Orlando, finding his sweet spot in Chicago with his Joy of Ireland retail and tea room on Michigan Avenue.
In 1997, Richard met Melissa Sterne at a Jewish Council for Urban Affairs event supporting the Fight for $15 Campaign. Two years later, Richard proposed, committing to a lifelong romance and partnership that thrived on building community and fighting for social justice. They were married on May 16, 1999, in a beautiful ceremony in Cincinnati, OH.
They welcomed sons Gabriel in 2001, and Evan in 2003. An active and involved parent in every way, Richard’s greatest joy in life was raising his sons and watching them grow. Sharing his love of transportation and geography early on, he took them to their beloved Drummond Montessori Magnet School via CTA or Metra every day. During their years at Drummond, Richard and Melissa were core members of a community of families that supported the school at every opportunity — Richard served on the Local School Council, volunteered with the PTO and countless school activities, and built a network of families that continues to gather regularly to this day.
Richard found both a spiritual home and a community of lifelong friends at Anshe Emet Synagogue. As an active member for over two decades, Richard participated in his sons’ religious education, attended services regularly, and joined the Green Team, Anshe Emet’s environmental sustainability committee. The friends he made at the synagogue not only celebrated holidays together, but enjoyed monthly poker games, sporting events across the city, and weekend bike rides.
Richard shared his love of all sports, particularly baseball, with Gabe and Evan. Raising baseball fans in Chicago, one has to make a difficult decision between the Cubs and White Sox; a decision made easy for Richard after visiting the respective box offices. Richard loved going to games with the boys, and as they grew up, they continued to talk and text about sports with the frequency of ESPN updates. He played tennis at McFetridge Park for many years, and as Evan picked up the sport in high school, they moved to park district courts across the city.
In 2002, Richard closed the Joy of Ireland and pivoted toward a rewarding career in sustainable transportation, helping to bring a new concept — car sharing — to Chicago, as part of I-Go Cars with Center for Neighborhood Technology. He loved being part of a vibrant change making organization, with its commitment to environmental sustainability in urban life. After I-Go was sold, he continued working in car sharing as the concept shifted into shared mobility, a way to place hybrid vehicles in underserved communities.
As Gabe and Evan continued to grow, Richard was enormously proud of their hard work and independent spirit, and he was a proud University of Illinois–Urbana Champaign dad. He and Melissa loved to visit Champaign-Urbana to spend family time together and meet their sons’ many friends.
In semi-retirement, Richard recaptured some of the joys of his youth, serving as a substitute teacher at Chicago Public Schools and as a Bike Ambassador for the City of Chicago, teaching bicycle safety and giving riding lessons across the city he loved.
Beloved husband of Melissa Sterne, and devoted father to Gabriel Kenneth and Evan Joshua Kosmacher. Preceded in death by his parents Kenny and Millie Kosmacher. Survived by siblings Karen (Robert) Lazar, Steven Kosmacher, and Jeff Kosmacher ’85.
