Poetic Obituaries: [Richard "Rico" Mendez] was perfectly content

with his pens and drawing paper. Once, when looking for her son in the house, she found him in a storage closet, sitting atop a stack of suitcases and boxes he'd assembled, writing and drawing in his journals.

After high school, Mr. Mendez moved to San Francisco in 1974 to pursue an art career. He continued to send letters home to his mother, on large pieces of paper covered with doodles and poems, sent in handmade envelopes.

from San Francisco Chronicle: Rico Mendez, Chronicle designer for 16 years, dies

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