Professor dies of stroke

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    By Sara Israelsen

    BYU communications professor Richard Kenneth Long died Tuesday night after suffering a massive stroke.

    Long was in the den of his Provo home when the stroke occurred between 5:30 and 6 Sunday morning. He was rushed to the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center where he underwent emergency surgery. He fell into a coma, never regained consciousness and was taken off life support Tuesday night at 8:30.

    Long, 60, came to BYU in 1999 and taught classes on public relations and an elective in mass communication and public policy. Long also served as an assistant department chair in the communications department, a position that allowed him the opportunity to work with all pre-communication students or communication majors in the department.

    Ed Adams, named communications department chair in 2003, said he chose Long as an assistant because he showed deep concern for the students and a willingness to work hard.

    ?He dug in and did the job right from the beginning,? Adams said.

    But more than just an academic influence, Long?s students remember him as a teacher who truly cared about them.

    ?Everyone had some story of how they connected with Rich and how he connected with them,? said Jonathan Bacon, president of BYU?s Public Relations Student Society of America. ?He would bend over backward to help you.?

    On a PRSSA trip to San Francisco in 2002, Bacon said he really got to know his professor through trips into the city on the subway, where they talked one-on-one about Bacon?s professional goals.

    ?He?s the reason I have a career path,? said Bacon, a senior from Toronto, Canada. ?He was my mentor and faculty adviser but I took it more serious than that. I feel like I lost a friend.?

    Around the office, Long was affectionately known as the department workhorse, arriving early and staying late ? often working 12-13 hour days, Adams said.

    Sue Ann Davis, Long?s wife, said Long loved working at BYU.

    ?Of all of Rich”s professional adventures from Miami to Michigan to Seattle, teaching and counseling students at BYU was his most cherished job,? she said.

    But this work ethic extended beyond the classroom. Long served for three years on the high council of the BYU 4th Stake and is remembered as a man dedicated to his calling and family history.

    ?We?re just going to miss him dearly,? said President Rand Packer of the BYU 4th Stake. ?He had a great love for BYU, love for the young people. He loved his assignment here on campus.?

    Packer said he remembers Long?s selfless dedication to family history as one of his greatest qualities.

    ?Whenever I think of Rich Long, I can?t help but think of all the 40,000 names that he had researched out of his family to have temple work done for,? Packer said. ?He just loved finding people to bless their lives.?

    And Heather Bowser, a senior from Harrisonburg, Va. would describe Long as a blessing in her life. Thanks to Long, she was able to add the necessary classes to become a print journalism major.

    ?Finally I got into the major I wanted,? she said. ?It changed my life. I couldn?t have done it without him.?

    As a thank you, she offered to help with any projects he had going. She said Long handed her a stack of family file cards ready for temple work and told her to get busy.

    ?This is a guy who?s got his life in order if the one thing that I can do for him is to do something for somebody else,? Bowser said.

    Long was first introduced to the church when he transferred to BYU in 1963 from Palomar College in Calif. on a baseball scholarship as a pitcher.

    While at school, he met his wife and joined the church in 1964. The two were sealed in the L.A. Temple on June 5, 1965.

    Long was scheduled to teach two classes this semester, but the Communications Department has asked communications professor Kenneth Plowman to teach the night section of Public Policy. Adjunct communications faculty member and assistant dean in the Marriott School, Joseph Ogden will teach the day session and Norma Collett with BYU media relations will pick up the beginning public relations class.

    Long”s viewing is Sunday, Jan. 16, from 6-8 p.m. at the Walker Sanderson funeral home, 646 E. 800 North in Orem. The funeral is Monday, Jan. 17, at 11 a.m. in a LDS chapel on 303 W. 3700 North in Provo. Interment will be in the East Lawn Memorial Hills Cemetery, 4800 N. 650 East in Provo.

    In lieu of flowers, please contact the BYU Communications Department about the Rich Long Student Scholarship Fund.

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