November 13, 1961 - October 21, 2018 Richard “Dick” Tatro was diagnosed with Posterior Cortical Atrophy (PCA,) a rare form of early onset Alzheimer’s in 2014. He passed away early Sunday morning surrounded by his wife Mona, son Charlie, twin sister Donna, and numerous family members. Dick was born in Boise, Idaho on November 13, 1961 to Kit and Don Tatro. He was the eighth of ten children, born five minutes before Donna. Dick moved to Carson City, Nevada in 1972, graduated from Carson High School in 1980, and earned his degree at the University of Nevada Reno. Dick loved football and played from 9 years old and through his high school years as an All American middle linebacker. It was in these years he met those who would be his friends for life. Dick spent his entire work life at Harrah’s Reno, where he was affectionately known, among other things, as “Mr. Wonderful.” Through his various positions and ultimately that of Casino Host, he made many close friends, both fellow employees and customers. Dick would tell you that the best thing that came from his time at Harrah’s, was Mona. Dick and Mona met in 1988 and were married in 1995. They had a wonderful life filled with travel, fun, love, and a shared passion for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland A’s, a passion so great that Dick chose to make his exit from this world on a bye week for the Steelers. Well planned Dick! On their luckiest day, 7/11 of 2006, Dick and Mona were blessed with their son, Charlie, and the most important thing in their lives became being a family. The love and adventures continued just as that, a family. Preceded in death by his parents, Dick is survived by his wife Mona, son Charlie, siblings Annette Parks, Marilyn Lewis, Laurie Tatro, John Tatro, Sheila Reinhart, Tom Tatro, Jim Tatro, Donna Saarem, and Patrick Tatro, as well as a giant extended family. Dick selflessly participated in research, ultimately donating his brain and spinal cord to further the cause of finding a cure for this most insidious disease that took him much too early. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made on his behalf to the UCSF Memory and Aging Center at the following web address: makeagift.ucsf.edu/brain. Checks can be made payable to the UCSF Foundation, P.O. BOX 45339, San Francisco, CA 94145-0339. Please include “MAC Fund B1871” and “Richard Tatro” in the memo line. Services will be held Friday, October 26th at 1:00 p.m. at St. Teresa’s Catholic Church in Carson City, Nevada, with a celebration of Dick’s life following at 3:00 p.m. at Silver Peak Brewery, 124 Wonder Street, Reno, Nevada 89502. Dick was a kind, gentle man. He loved his wife, son, family, friends, music, sports, golf, and life. Simply put, he loved.
