Richard Katula passed from this earth peacefully on January 28, 2026, surrounded by family and loved ones and after a heroic battle against multiple devastating illnesses. He was 82 years old.

Son of the late Tony and Gladys Katula, Rich was born on Chicago's South Side and embraced that identity long after he journeyed into the world. Rich was a gifted athlete and standout pitcher in Chicago and was awarded the 1959 Chicago Babe Ruth Championship game ball. He later terrorized the South Kingstown Recreational Softball League throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, playing for Casey's and Schillers restaurants. Rich put himself through community college working the night shift at a Sherwin-Williams paint factory before attending Western Michigan University and eventually earning a PhD from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. An early champion of environmental stewardship, Rich campaigned for adoption of the bottle bill in Rhode Island in the mid-1970s. He and his students cleared South County roads of thousands of littered bottles and cans.

Rich had a long and distinguished career in academia. He was a professor at University of Rhode Island (1974-1987), DePaul University (1987-1990), and Northeastern University (1990-2015), and served in leadership positions at all three institutions. An expert in rhetorical theory, the oratory of ancient Greece, the Chautauqua Movement, and civic education, Rich authored several books and won numerous scholarly accolades. Twice a Fulbright scholar to Greece, Rich developed a love of the country's history, culture, and especially the Greek people. Rich shared this love of Greece with hundreds of Northeastern students, leading them on tours of the country through the university's Dialogue of Civilizations program. He greatly valued his many Greek friends, including Evangelos and Artemis, and missed them dearly during his final years. Rich really lived for his students and was a mentor and inspiration to so many over his 40 plus years in academia. He was also a fervent believer in dialogue, persuasion, and debate as the linchpins of democratic society. Hundreds of colleagues supported Rich over the decades, notably Michael, Tom, and Dale during his last years at Northeastern.

Preceded in death by his wife, Patricia, and siblings Jim, Loretta, and David, he is survived by his son Michael, his beloved grandchildren Anton and Amelia, his sisters Elaine and Denise, his nephew Brian, and many other nieces and nephews. Denise stayed by his side during his final weeks and his close companion Jane made his last year of life joyful and fun. Rich was buoyed through good and bad times by his wonderful friends Wally, Rick, Tom, Steve, and Bob - friends he made back at Fernwood Park, Fenger High School, and during his proud service in the U.S. Army at the Pentagon during the Vietnam War.