'He Always Put Family First:' Toms River Man Remembered
Apr 17, 2018He also was quietly finishing up the details of the surprise party for his wife's 40th birthday. "He was all about his family," said Michael Bococinski, Rich's older brother. "Family was everything to him." That family — wife Diana and son Christian, his mother, Helen, and brother Mike and his family — and Rich's extended "family" of friends, co-workers and so many other people he encountered in life is now left trying to come to grips with the loss of a man whose kindness and selflessness left footprints everywhere he went.Rich Bococinski, 37, died Tuesday evening when he was hit by a car on Fischer Boulevard in Toms River, in front of his home on the corner of Fischer Boulevard and Fairview Drive, across from St. Justin the Martyr Roman Catholic Church. As was a habit, Rich was picking up some litter in the street in front of their home, Mike said, something he did often. Rich did it to make sure the debris didn't wind up on the lawn of the church, Mike said, and to make sure it didn't cause someone to have an accident."It's just who he was," Mike said, something borne out by the outpouring of condolences and memories shared to Rich's Facebook page in the four days since. "You were one of the best," wrote Joseph Schaefer, one of the pals who'd been bantering with him about the Saints and the fantasy football league they were in. "He was one of the most thoughtful kind people I ever knew," wrote Tim Calleja, a more recent friend.Others shared memories of days spent on the soccer fields together. Soccer dominated their lives when they were youngsters, Mike said. "We didn't sit home and watch football; our Sundays were spent on the soccer fields, at my games, at his games, sometimes reffing," Mike said. Rich's love of the NFL and other sports didn't develop until much later. It resulted in an ecclectic mix of teams he rooted for: the Saints, the Cleveland Indians, and the Golden State Warriors. "He rooted for (all three) when they were still really bad," Mike said. "He wasn't a bandwagon fan. He star... (Patch.com)
