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      ObituaryDr. Jose Israel Ricard, 80, of
    Huntington, passed away Saturday, July 5, 
    2008 in St. Mary’s
    Medical
    Center,
    
    Huntington.  
    Funeral Liturgy will be conducted at 2 p.m. Wednesday, July 9, 2008 at St. 
    Joseph Catholic Church with Msgr. Lawrence Luciana officiating. 
    Burial will follow in
    
    Spring
    Hill
    Cemetery. 
    He was born February 16, 1928 in
    
    Havana,
    Cuba, a son 
    of the late Jose M. and Candelaria Alvarez Ricard.  He 
    was also preceded in death by two sisters, Ophelia Ricard and Ondina Ricard 
    and one brother, Miguel Ricard.  He earned his medical 
    degree at
    
    Havana
    University and served 
    as Director of Sports Medicine for the Cuban Olympic team. He fled his 
    native
    Cuba in 1963 and later 
    settled in
    
    Huntington. Dr. Ricard was in 
    family practice in
    
    Huntington since 1972. 
    He was a Marshall University Team Physician Emeritus, a member of the 
    Cabell County Medical Association, for which he served as President in 1993, 
    a member of the West Virginia State Medical Association, a member of the 
    American Medical Association.  He served as President of 
    the West Virginia Academy of Family Physicians in 1990 and was awarded the 
    Family Doc Award in 1994.  In 1996, he was elected into 
    the Marshall University Athletic Hall of fame and in 2001 he was elected 
    into the Marshall University Sports Medicine Hall of Fame. 
    He was also inducted into the Huntington Wall of Fame. He was 
    instrumental in bringing the Annual Family Medicine Weekend and Sports 
    Medicine Conference to
    
    Huntington for the past 21 
    years.  He is survived by his wife, Amy Ricard; two 
    daughters Jackie Ricard of Lexington, KY and Raquel Ricard Smith and her 
    husband, Cameron of Ashland, KY; three sisters, Migdalia Benitez, Anna Maria 
    Collazo and Unice Rodriguez; three brothers, Rafael Ricard, Felix Ricard and 
    Juan Ricard and numerous nieces and nephews.  Friends may 
    call from noon to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at St. Joseph Catholic Church 
    Connector.  Beard Mortuary,
    
    Huntington is in charge of 
    arrangements.  In lieu of flowers the family requests 
    donations be made to the Dr. and Mrs. Jose Ricard Endowed Scholarship c/o 
    Big Green Scholarship Foundation P.O. Box 1360 Huntington, WV 25715 or to 
    Jose Ricard Scholarship Fund c/o Family Medicine Foundation of WV,
    
    P.O. Box 359
    Flatwoods,
    WV
    26621. 
     
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