The beloved New York City school crossing guard who was shot dead on a Brooklyn subway this week was remembered by his brothers as an “electric” personality who was the “glue” that kept their family together.
Jermaine Henderson, 49, shared recollections Tuesday of his late brother, 45-year-old Richard Henderson, who was fatally shot on a train in Crown Heights when he intervened in a dispute between two other people over loud music Sunday.
“[I remember] his laugh, his smile, knowing that he could walk into a room, and all of the sudden… the party had just started even if it was just you and him because he just had this kind of electric energy that you’d want to get to know him,” Jermaine Henderson told The Post.
“His story was not supposed to be written like this. My brother used to always say we’re going to grow old together. I’d probably be the grumpy old man,” Jermaine said, smiling at the memory.
Richard was the youngest brother and was still in his teens when their mother died from cancer in 1995, Jermaine told The Post.
“I had to take on the burden of pretty much being responsible for not only my son at the time but my little brother. When she passed away, it brought us even closer together. We always called each other,” the older brother recalled.
Richard was killed while traveling home from watching an NFL game with his friend, Anthony Williams.
“We were just scheduling a Super Bowl party out here. For him to be at a playoff game with his friends and stuff, that was like something that was just setting up to pretty much end like we normally do – it’s normal tradition,” Jermaine said of his brother’s last hours.
Going forward, he added, the family will have to work to maintain their strong bond in Richard’s honor.
“He’s going to keep the family together. He was the glue,” Jermaine said.
“He was the one that connected the dots and brought everyone together. No matter what the event, he would always be the first one to pass the word around to get everybody together. Even him having a conversation with one person about when, time and place to meet up and before you know it it’s like 50 people…showing up because of him. He’d connect the dots and made it a full circle,” he recalled.
Another brother, 55-year-old Earl Ford, called Richard’s death an “unfortunate tragedy.”
“I have a birthmark on my chest,” he told The Post, touching the right side of his chest. “It goes from the right and it goes around. [Richard] has the exact same mark on the other side of his chest, so my little brother completed me. We are just like a heart, we are connected, we are together.”
“He was just an amazing person. He was loved, tremendously loved,” Ford added, saying, “I’m lost for words. I love my brother, that’s my brother.”
Despite his full and loving life, the family said the longtime crossing guard for Avenues The World School in Chelsea would be surprised by the outpouring of support following his death – including a fundraiser set up by students.
The private school community remembered Richard as a “hero,” with one student calling him “the sweetest man I ever met.”
“He’d be like, ‘Oh, this is all because of me. I’m surprised to know that I’d be having all these people that know me and love me.’ He didn’t think he had that effect on people. He was so humble,” Jermaine explained.
“Of course, he’s going to be missed but we are going to make sure that we keep it going because this is something I know it was all because of him. He made it look easy. We’re going to make sure we keep that going,” he insisted.
