Richard Mansour Elias III, 72, passed away on March 13th, 2017 in Gilbert, AZ.
“Rick” was born on December 6th, 1944 in Big Springs, TX to Richard Elias Jr. and Minnie Romley. He grew up in Phoenix where he attended ASU and was apart of the Sigma Chi brotherhood. Throughout Rick’s life, he was always a cowboy at heart, a chef by trade, and had a passion for the ocean, which led him to become a Merchant Mariner (captain) in 2011. Rick’s one-of-a-kind personality and vision allowed him to live out all of his dreams at separate stages of his life, before combining them all for the last decade of his life. For close to forty years, Rick was a successful restaurant owner throughout the valley. He was founder and owner of the popular Mexican food restaurants Mi Amigos, Ricardo’s, and Skippy’s Grille and Cantina. In 2007, Rick left behind all of the familiarity of restaurant ownership in Arizona to became the executive chef aboard the charter boat, the Islander, a live-aboard sport-fishing and shark-diving charter boat operating out of San Diego, California. For the next decade, he established himself as one of the premier chefs in the world-renowned San Diego sport-fishing fleet; not just because of his gourmet meals that rivaled most land-based establishments, but because of the passion that enabled him to create culinary masterpieces under extremely adverse conditions. What separated Rick from more experienced, decorated chefs in the industry–that were also half of Rick’s age–was his zest for life and an infectious personality that could only be described by his clients and his peers as “a man truly living his dream”.
Although Rick was living his dream on the Eastern Pacific Ocean for the majority of the year, he cherished his time when he would return home; putting his heart & soul into his 3-acre property in Chandler, Arizona. During the off-season, Rick enjoyed spending time with his children, his loyal friends and neighbors, his horses, his cats, his prized Labradors, Maggie and Maizee; he would also be found tending to his rose bushes, maintaining the land on his John Deere tractor, and being of generous service to those who requested him. Rick loved to help people; he had an unconventional wisdom about life and a wealth of inspiring words of encouragement. Gained through experiences that would surely have broken lesser men, Rick used the lessons that he learned in life–good and bad–to not only motivate him, but to inspire others as well. Rick had a way of always being able to see good qualities, no matter the situation, and that “glass half-full” outlook on life allowed Rick to live a happy and fulfilling life all the way up until his sudden passing. The chapters written in Rick’s “book of life” before his passing are what was most important to him. Rick didn’t spend his days fearful of death, he lived each day seeking a new purpose, not dwelling in the past or predicting the future, living strictly in the moment. Without a doubt, he rests peacefully in the heavens with the most minimal of regrets.
Rick is survived by his children, son Richard Henry, daughter Natalie Rose, her husband Matthew, and his granddaughter Beatrice; his siblings, Barbara, Joanne, Janice, and Robbie. He is preceded in death by his parents, Richard and Minnie.
A memorial service is scheduled for Thursday, May 4, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. at Mountain View Funeral Home and Cemetery, 7900 E. Main Street, Mesa, AZ 85207.