Richard Arthur Wyrick, 76, died peacefully the evening of his birthday, May 21, 2020, at his home in San Antonio, Texas. Present at his death was his ex-wife, Beverly Davis.
Richard was born on May 21, 1944, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was the second child of Mary Thomasine (Keene) Wyrick and Arthur Moore Wyrick. His parents’ hometown was Sherman, Texas, but the family moved numerous times across the United States, as Richard’s father managed numerous retail stores in New Mexico, Ohio, Idaho, Washington and Oregon, before returning home to Sherman to retire.
Richard graduated from high school in Portland, Oregon. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from the honors college of the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon and a master’s degree and doctoral degree in clinical psychology from the University of Arizona in Tucson in 1972.
After working as an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Richard took a position as a staff psychologist at the Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital in San Antonio, Texas. He made San Antonio his home and retired in 2017 after 39 years of service to veterans at the VA hospital.
Richard was preceded in death by his parents and sister, Patricia Pappenhagen. He is survived by a son, David Wyrick, and daughter, Charlotte Wyrick, as well as his nephew, Ronald Pappenhagen, and nieces, Laura Pappenhagen Lazzerini, and Karen Beth Pappenhagen.
Richard was a skilled clinician and teacher, widely respected by staff, colleagues and patients for his insights and dedication to his work and the profession of clinical psychology. He was one of the original members of the San Antonio Society for Psychoanalytic Studies and a longtime regular participant in the monthly reading group. He contributed to the reading group’s discussions with wit, warmth, originality and compassion. He is remembered fondly, with great affection and respect, by many former patients, colleagues and friends.
