In May of 2014, when Feeding Hands opened its doors to provide groceries to those who needed help, the first guest walked in the door. He was extremely thin wearing clothes two-sizes too large. He had arrived early. As he waited for us to begin serving, with a deferential demeanor, he asked us if there was anything he could do to help. With our food supplies thin, our guests came each week. For the next three weeks he arrived early. With his hands folded at his waist in front of him, he asked if there was anything he could do. His desire to help as evidenced by his persistence finally paid off. With what appeared to be a frail body, I wasn’t sure he could help, but I asked him if he would put out the a-frame signs filled with sand. To my surprise, he had no difficulty.
During the next month, Richie Krol took on more jobs. In between, when things were slow, he picked up litter all around the grounds of the church. He picked up a broom and swept the parking lot. Our volunteers started noticing him walking at a very brisk pace all through Somerville running errands and would stop to give him a ride. At the end of the month, he told me with tears in his eyes how he had been trying to volunteer in many places, but no one would give him a chance. He was incredibly grateful to be able to help.
Over the next twelve years, Rich became a staple. He would ride to the CommunityFood Bank in Hillside in one of our cars to help load and unload our orders. When we bought our first truck, he became the extra pair of hands on every trip. Pound for pound he could out-lift anyone…perhaps because of the size of his heart! Over the years, he has been the constant on our trucks. He had no license, so our volunteer drivers picked him up and then dropped him off at the end of their day. After a while, he took over scheduling his own drivers and teaching all the “newbies” the routine at each store. Each one he befriended, and they befriended him.
Throughout that time, Richie never missed a shift. If we had a pickup on an alternate day of the week, he always said yes, unless it was a day he was taking care of his bedridden mom which he did every weekend until her passing in 2018. He was stopped in March of 2020 when he caught Covid. He was madder than a hornet’s nest when we wouldn’t allow him to come back until he tested clear. After we closed our tent distributions and moved into retail space in Raritan, he would walk there each week to clean the facility.
Always aware of others, he would leave a small gift on someone’s desk, or in their car of something he had heard them say they liked. No note. No recognition of who left it. This humble man, who had had a very hard life and overcame addiction “with the help of Jesus”, understood the importance of reaching out and lifting others.
One day last month after not being able to get ahold of him, we asked for a welfare check at the boarding house where he lived. Our Richie had sadly, but fittingly, passed away alone. After all, he never wanted to be a burden to anyone. He taught us all to never look at the outside of a person but look for their heart; and if you give people a chance, they will surprise you. He did us. He became an integral part of our Feeding Hands Family. This pauper was truly a prince. And we will all miss him very much.
After his 10:30 funeral mass at Immaculate Conception in Somerville on Friday April 24, Richie’s urn will be taken to the St Bernards Cemetery, Bridgewater in our Feeding Hands black box truck where he had spent so many hours picking up food so other families could eat. It will also carry a broom, in recognition of his willingness to do whatever he could to make this world a better place.
We salute Richie Krol and all of our volunteers who bring the best of themselves to make a difference in our community.