Friends of Richard Shores gathered at the Garden Chapel Friday, May 8, for a ceremony to remember him in life, and to mourn his passing .
Soft music filled the hall as several inmates, some free staff and correctional officers took their seats. As people filed inside the mood was noticeably somber and quiet.
But that feeling immediately changed when Pastor Morris A. Curry stood and approached the microphone. He lowered his head while clearing his throat and said,“Today we’re here to remember a colleague and a friend, a man of strength, kindness and integrity.”
Those in attendance nodded there heads in silent approval at Pastor Curry’s opening statement.
“Now all of you here today knew Richard Shores or worked with him. I want to give you a moment to speak about him.”
An inmate named Angel said, “I worked with him on the clean -up detail. He had a feisty character but he was fair.” After taking a few seconds to compose himself Angel said what all were feeling at that moment. “Mr. Shores will be missed.”
As the ceremony progressed, energy from everyone and the various speakers generated a sensation that radiated a feeling of sincere warmth, and respect.
Inmate Bishop said. “Shores marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and was involved in the civil rights movement. In the end he didn’t let his illness define him. He felt the election of President Obama was truly a historical event. An honoring song was shared by a Native American prisoner. At the end he said, “This song is for the man who walked mother earth for us all.”
A solemn prayer called the Mourner’s Kaddish was recited by John Sklut a Jewish inmate here at San Quentin.
Before the service approached its end, Corrections Officer Wright said, “If you knew him you could see that he was dependable and a hard worker But I grew to know him as a good man in an honest sense. I’m gonna miss him.”
“He was a person full of life and he wanted to see his sister Brenda and his ex-wife Virginia one last time before he died,” said Shores’s last cell mate Kevin Daniel. “The parole board gave him a date but they took it away because he didn’t have a place to go after he got out. He was a tough man but that bothered him deeply.”
Daniel explained, “Shores had a saying before he went to bed. He would always tell me, ‘I’ll see ya’, its time for me to catch up with the other side of sleep.” Putting his hands in his pockets Daniel blinked his eyes a few times and looked up towards the ceiling and said, “Shores was my friend, and a good one.”
As I write this my prayers are with Shores, his family and all of us. Because in the end what really matters is not just how a man lives while he is here but how a man is remembered after he is gone.
