| Education:
Vocation: Marriage: |
l'Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne (URCA) Vice President of the District Council of Pharmacists 1999-2007 Président of and Professor at l'Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne (URCA), Reims, France 2007-2012 [at the time of his death] Kay Elizabeth "Kaydie" Kampa December 27, 1987 Alachua, Florida |
 |
| Children: | Mélanie "Mel" | Feb. 3, 1990 | |
| Christophe | Oct. 11, 1991 |
| Notes: | (Don Kampa's memories of Richard Vistelle): "When Kaydie got married, her husband joined our tennis groups and |
| he fit in well with out family. Her
husband, Richard Vistelle, was born in France. I guess you could say they met
as a result of Kaydie having an accident in Africa. Kaydie had been in the Peace
Corps and was assisned to a place in Africa. One day she was riding along a
country road on a motorcycle and collided with someone and broke her leg. She
had to come back to the states for treatment, so she went back to Gainesville
where she enrolled in some classes at the University of Florida. She met Richard
there, as he was working at the university in a research program. She got acquainted
with him, and evenutally they got married. He has a professorship at the University
of Rheims in France, so he is there half-time and in Gainesville half-time. He works
on research connected with the pharmaceutical companies. Kaydie was intrigued
with France and they set up housekeeping there, and lived in Rheims for a few years.
She is a very good linguist. She speaks French, and for awhile, she taught English to
the French. She's now in the process of setting up a little school teaching French in
Gainesville. They have a little girl and a little boy, Mélanie
and Christophe. (That
makes twelve great-grandchildren for me.) "Richard and Kaydie spent a lot of time travelling back and forth after they were married, and since they were spending so much time in Florida, they decided to buy Marianna's home in Gainesville. She had a very nice home in an attractive area with a lot of trees. Marianna was selling real estate there, and she decided she wanted a different house, a smaller one. She purchased a home outside of town on a lake. It's in a very scenic spot and she's quite happy with the place. So Richard and Kaydie bought her old house and Kaydie has done a wonderful job of re-decorating and owner and spent hours out there with a pick and shovel planting trees and grass, and flowers. I spent some time in both places this summer. Kaydie had some company from France. We're all very good friends." Kaydie and Richard divided their time between homes on two continents, one at 2616 NW 37th Terrace in Gainesville, Alachua, Florida in the United States and another in Reims, France where Richard worked, first as a professor and later as president, at the local university. Kaydie would use their Reims home as a base when she led her summer tours of Provence. Richard was Président of the l'Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne (URCA) in Reims, France where he'd taught and done research in the field of pharmacology. It was a four year position and his presidential term was not to be completed until May 18. In addition, he belonged to the office of the Agency for the Search and the Innovation for Champagne-Ardenne and to the office of the world pole of competitiveness Industries and Agro-Resources. He was in Reims when he unexpectedly died of a heart attack on Saturday, April 21 at the age of 61. He and his wife Kaydie had been married for 24 years. In 2017 a memorial homage was held for Richard in Reims, France. Daughter Mélanie described the event: "The school band (which Dad loved) played songs for about 15 min. Then there were speeches by the current president of the university and the Dean of Pharmacy. Afterwards, we walked into the courtyard where a plaque with his name on it was unveiled. We had champagne, finger food and mingled with people who would come up to us and share memories that they had of him." -- from an e-mail to her mother Kaydie dated July 16, 2017. There was an article written about Richard, translated from the French by his daughter Mélanie: Richard Vistelle was hard to miss with his moustache. He was the president of the University of Reims from 2007-2012, the year of his sudden death. The college of medicine has named its courtyard after him calling it "place Richard-Vistelle." The ceremony took place Thursday in the presence of many faculty, friends and family. Richard Vistelle was unconventional and one of the most enjoyable people to cross paths with. Olivier Dupéron, vice president of the university described him as being "a very likable person that you become attached to." Raymond Virot, the head of numerous committees at the University said " with others I don't know, but with me he was always very nice. You didn't need a certified letter when you wanted to see hum, within 5 minutes his door was open." Camille Mangin, his brother in-law, described him as having "the patience of a saint with children. He would spend hours putting together Playmobil sets with them." The current president of the university, Guillaume Gellé, remembered when Richard "arrived late to meet with the mayor of Reims because he walked through the courtyard on his way out and stopped to greet everyone he knew." And he knew a lot of people! The Dean of Pharmacy, Jean-Marc Millot, said "he was a great man and we liked him a lot." |
| Ancestry: | The Carl Balder Line [through marriage] |
| The Franz Kampa Line [through marriage] | |
| The Jean Stimmler/Stimler Line [through marriage] |
Stimmler/Stimler-Kampa Family Album
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