When Tia Wilson ordered a Jolly Rancher cocktail at a sports bar one night in 2005, her selection sparked a conversation with a man who turned out to be much sweeter than her drink.
Tia, who was 23 at the time, was at the bar with a few family members watching the Bernard Hopkins fight when she caught the eye of a guy at the bar, Richard Jackson, who was 30. He approached her and asked if her drink was any good.
“I said, ‘Yeah, it’s good. You should order one for yourself,’” Tia said. “He said. ‘Well, let me see if I like it first. Can I try yours?’”
They went back and forth flirtatiously, and Tia finally let him have a taste. By the end of the night, she had his phone number.
“He was super funny and sweet and I just felt a good vibe when I met him that night,” she said. “So, I thought, ‘Let me give it a try and call him,’ and it turned out to be a good thing.”
Richard at a job site
Tia was a single mother to four kids who were six months, two, three, and four years old. At the time, she was living with her mother, and Richard inspired her to get her own place. He wanted her to strive for her best, and he gave great advice.
Richard had the same encouragement for other loved ones, including Tia’s children. She and Richard parented her kids together over the course of their 13 ½-year relationship. Her children are now 16, 18, 20 and 21. Richard also has a biological son of his own who is 22.
Spending time with family was important to Richard, and he especially loved cookouts. He was in charge of the grill, making hamburgers and pork ribs, even though his Islamic faith kept him from eating pork himself.
Richard was doing his favorite thing—grilling food for friends and family at a cookout—on July 15, 2018 when he tried to have a heart-to-heart talk with Tia’s daughter’s boyfriend, who is her four-month-old son’s father. Richard encouraged the young man to get his life together and get out of the streets now that he has a child.
Tia’s daughter’s boyfriend was receptive to Richard’s advice, but the young man’s brother felt Richard was overstepping and being disrespectful. A physical altercation broke out, and the brothers were asked to leave the cookout.
Richard took a walk to cool off and ended up back at home. Tia spoke to him on the phone and assured him she’d be right there once she finished packing up their things at the cookout, but it would be too late.
As Tia approached their home on Norwood Street in the Point Breeze section of South Philadelphia, near 21st and McKean, she spotted the yellow police tape. A neighbor grabbed her and told her Richard had been shot.
Two of Richard’s dogs
According to police, Richard answered a knock at the door of his home, and he was shot in the chest. Tia’s daughter’s boyfriend’s brother was taken into custody in connection with Richard’s murder.
“He doesn’t realize that the person he took away was needed,” Tia said. “He was wanted. He held a lot of people together, and we miss him.”
Richard was born Aug. 1, 1977 and grew up in South Philly. He graduated from Edward W. Bok Technical High School, where he learned how to cut hair. Tia still has his clippers.
For a few years, before Tia met him, Richard owned a newsstand at Broad and Lindley in Olney. In recent years, Richard worked in construction for several employers, including Philly Custom Homes.
Richard did so much for his family, like fixing things around the house, doing the laundry, and cooking dinner every night. Tia loved how he made lasagna and stuffed shells.
Dogs were a big part of Richard’s life. At the time of his passing, he had four pitbulls, and now Tia is left with one, Medusa.
Even though Richard was a serious guy, he and Tia had fun in their relationship. They enjoyed being silly and weird together, and not everyone saw that side of him.
Richard at a job site
“He always tried to keep a smile on my face and he never wanted me to be upset about anything,” Tia said. “That’s what I loved about him—he was really, really for me. There were plenty of times where he could have been like, ‘This is over, I can’t do it anymore,’ but he stuck it out. I’m grateful that I did have that in my life.”
Shortly after they met, Richard proposed marriage, but Tia wasn’t ready. Eventually they had an Islamic wedding and were considered married in the eyes of their religion, but they were not legally married. Tia wishes they had taken that step.
“Richard was a great father, a great provider, a great brother,” Tia said. “He was an all-around awesome, amazing guy that I wish I had more time with.”
Richard is laid to rest at Friends South Western Burial ground in Upper Darby.
Resources are available for people and communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Click here for more information.
