Richard James Eshelman

Eshelman, Richard James, 74, of Clearwater, passed away on February 19, 2008 at Largo Medical Center. He was born on July 25, 1933 in Rochester, New York and moved to Florida in 1959. Richard served in the US Coast Guard, the US Army 101st Airborne Division and the Army National Guard. He was the Director of John Knox Neighborly Senior Services Center in St. Petersburg and the owner of Sandpiper Tours and Cruises. Richard never met a stranger, even in his many hospital stays he was making friends with nurses and doctors who were caring for him. He had a gift for knowing how to talk to people and always felt he had made new friends. He will be greatly missed by his loving family and friends. Richard is survived by his wife of 49 years: Alice; his son Jay and his fiancée Jeanette of Largo; his daughter and son-in-law: Tina and Steve Burcham, St. Petersburg; his daughter and son-in-law: Donna Eshelman and Lorne Schinbein, Dunedin; his grandchildren: Christopher Tyler Burcham, of St. Petersburg and Molly Grace Ruth Schinbein, of Dunedin; and his brothers Raymond, of Punta Gorda and Robert, of Ocala. A visitation will be held on Sunday, February 24th from 3pm until service time at 5pm at Anderson-McQueen Funeral & Cremation Centers-Tyrone Chapel, 7820 38th Ave N., St. Petersburg. A reception will follow at the funeral home.