Austin "Rick" Gregory
Binghamton - Binghamton: Austin "Rick" Gregory, 66, passed away October 10, 2018. Rick was predeceased by his mother and stepfather Cora and Harold Schofield, father Arthur Gregory, and brother Arthur "Bob" Gregory. He is survived by his siblings, Ann Gregory of Binghamton, Paul (Linda) Schofield of Conklin, Arlene Dungan, of CA, Allen (Char) Schofield, CA, and sister in-law Lois Gregory, NV, his special cousins Joe and Mary, nieces and nephews, Randy, Mary, Michael (Erin), Shelly and Rebecca, along with many other cousins and friends, especially his life-long friend Gary (Debbie) Gitchell. Rick was an avid stock car racing fan and had a great love for photography. He was a gentle soul who loved and cared for others above himself. He will be dearly missed by all.
A memorial service will be held Wednesday at 5 PM at the John Hus Presbyterian Church of Binghamton, 47 Glenwood Ave, Binghamton. The family will receive friends at the church from 4-5 PM. Light meal to follow the service. The family asks that you wear your favorite race attire in Rick's memory. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Spalding Foundation Inc. for injured race drivers & their families. The Spalding Foundation Inc. 1074 Sulpher Springs Rd. Owego, NY 13827,
I'm post this as one of Richie's closest friends. I'm Gary Gitchell who I'm and some may know me as Fran Gitchell's Son from old Shangri-La Speedway. I introduced Richie to Stock Car racing way back around 1965 and the journey began. We were Dutch Hoag fans and once I had my driving licence we followed Dutch all over the Northeast. Then we branched out to All Star racing events, sprint cars and for the most part anything with 4 wheels on them we were there. Long about the late 80's my kids started BMX racing and it didn't leave much time to chase stock cars. Richie and Bill Cornell and Cecil & Mary King took off and they hit the road and added many other tracks that they attended. Cecil passed away and Richie & Bill kept going until Bill's health started to hinder him but the good news was I was back and Richie & I picked up going but not as many as when we were younger. We grew up at Shangri-La, sold thousands of Gater Racing news, Speed Sport News, Area Auto Racing news and programs there. I wish I knew how many races he attended but but bottom line is he did what he loved. I hope the local race fans will come to his service and say farewell to a one of a kind race fan......Gary
