Richard A. Hackney

Richard A. Hackney, 67, of Venice, Florida, passed away Saturday April 8, 2017. Richard was born Jan. 26, 1950, in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. He received his B.A. from Penn State in 1971 and his Executive MBA from Florida Gulf Coast University in 2001. He was a kind and thoughtful husband, father and grandfather. He enjoyed traveling, going to Disney with his granddaughter and working on homeremodeling projects. He had many interests, including collecting comic books and reading mysteries and science fiction. Richard loved the Christmas season. He “believed” and always made sure everyone had Santa gifts. He enjoyed putting u p his ever-growing Christmas village each year. Richard was a newspaperman. He believed in the printed word. He would say, “Printing is a noble profession.” It was what he knew, what he loved and what he did 24/7. He started his career at 14 delivering his hometown paper, The Herald- Standard. He worked for Calkins Newspapers as a district manager while in college, then as the business manager for Standard Printing Company, later becoming controller for the Herald-Standard. Richard then went on to become the publisher of The South Dade Newsleader in Homestead, Florida. Richard was hired in 1990 by Derek Dunn-Rankin to be the business manager of the production side of Sun Coast Media Group. He later held the position of production manager until finally becoming president of Sun Coast Press. Richard was frequently seen inserting papers by hand, feeding a hopper, looking inside the workings of the press and sometimes just pushing a broom to clean up. Some thought he wore rose-colored glasses. It was true. Richard thought the best of people, had a can-do attitude and always did the right thing. He was a great salesman. He sold commercial printing with his sales team up and down the state of Florida. He enjoyed being involved with high school and college newspapers, always making himself available to speak and teach his craft. He is survived by his wife of 28 years, Joanne Markus Hackney; their sons, Jason Santore of Louisiana and Benjamin Santore of Venice; granddaughter Isabella Santore; and his corgi, Emerson. He also leaves his sisters, Mary Patricia of Uniontown, Susan Mongell and husband, Lewis, of Uniontown, Barbara Carrara of Grove City, Pennsylvania, and Julie Hackney and fiancé, Rob Farquhar, of Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania; his brother, William Hackney, and wife, Debra, of LaPorte, Indiana; and nieces and nephews, Johanna, Kathleen Tim and Ted Mongell, Amanda Bancroft, and Erin and Casey Carrara. He also is survived by his family by marriage, Joseph and Shirley Markus of Fort Myers, Florida; Bernadette Markus of Cape Coral Florida; Regina Buckley and husband, Joel, of Falcon, Colorado; Maria Grumley and husband, Robert, of Bonita Springs Florida; and nephews, Don Hatfield and Jordan and Samuel Buckley. Richard was preceded in death by his parents, George and Mary Alice Hackney; as well as by his beloved corgi Amelia Braveheart! Services: Services will be held at Farley Funeral Home, 265 S. Nokomis Ave., Venice, on Friday, April 14, from 5 to 7 p.m. A Celebration of Life will follow on Saturday, April 15, at 10 a.m. Contributions: In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial donation to Vintage Paws Sanctuary, 7950 State Road 72, Sarasota FL 34241, or VintagePaws.org; or your local SPCA.