Richard Gural

“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.” 1Timothy 6:12 Richard Patrick Gural always fought the good fight for his family, his professional endeavors, his friends, many strangers, and most recently, for himself. His motto for living: “always do the right thing.” Over the past 10 years, Richard fought a heroic battle with advanced stage prostate cancer. For many years, few people knew of his condition. He never complained, remained positive, and fought the disease every minute of every day for more than a decade as he continued his professional work until the last week of his life. Richard passed away peacefully on Sunday, April 21, 2013. Trained as a clinical pharmacologist with a PhD from the University of Kentucky, Richard spent his entire professional career in the regulatory sector of the pharmaceutical industry. His professional passion was helping to get drugs approved on a worldwide basis in a wide spectrum of therapeutic areas to help millions of patients worldwide prevent, cure, or mitigate their diseases. His priorities were always the patient and the safety of the drug. On the home front, Richard was a loving father, a doting grandfather, a devoted son, and the best husband any woman could hope to have. He encouraged, loved, nurtured, and protected his family, always instilling in them a strong work ethic and the courage to always do the right thing. His professional travels and associations gave him a larger worldview and the appreciation of fine French wine and a good Cuban cigar. He was as comfortable in his workday “uniform” a Hickey Freeman suit, white shirt, Hermes tie, and Allen Edmond shoes as he was in his usual home attire of blue jeans held up by crazy suspenders, a doo-rag, and well-worn work boots. A man of diverse and varied interests, Richard dabbled in photography, raised honey bees, and was known to the neighborhood as Mr. Fix-It. He was an expert electrician, plumber, carpenter, and tile setter. He also loved a variety of music: Andrea Bocelli , Il Divo, Frank Sinatra, and especially Elvis Presley, to whom he listened almost every Sunday morning. Born to Emil and Mary Gural in Somerville, New Jersey on June 26, 1948, Richard is survived by his wife, Marilyn; his daughter, Alina , her husband, Jason, and their two children Sophia and Charlotte; his son Peter, his wife Shavaun, and their two children Laila and Lily; his mother, Mary Gural; and his menagerie of pets: Buffy, Rufus, Izzy, Bella, Bocelli, and Valentino. He was preceded in death by his brother, Emil Gural. An intelligent, honest, generous, humble, and caring man, Richard embodied the best of our humanness. Everyone whose life he touched is better in some way for having known him. Richard's life will be celebrated at the Campbell-Ennis-Klotzbach Funeral Home on Main and Fifth Avenue in Phoenixville, PA. Visitation hours will be from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM on Thursday, April 25, 2013, and at a Memorial Service on Friday, April 26, 2013 at 1:30 PM. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Hospital at the following link: http://mskcc.convio.net/goto/Gural As a lasting legacy for family and friends to treasure, please share your story about how Richard touched your life. Go to the funeral homes' website, www.campbellennisklotzbachfuneralhome.com, click the obituary tab, click Richard Gural, and share your story.

Richard Gural

June 26, 1948 - April 21, 2013