Ricardo “Ricky” Wasco

United States Marine Corps Corporal Ricardo “Ricky” Wasco passed away on October 7, 2016 after a grueling battle with service-related cancer.

Wasco was born and raised in Citrus Heights, California. He was a very kind, shy and happy child. He was always willing to lend a helping hand, lit up any room he walked in, and would make you laugh with his goofy personality. Having had large families on both his maternal and paternal sides, who all lived in the same city, he considered his cousins as some of his closest friends. Wasco loved to play video games with his brother and cousins. Additionally, he was a part of his high school’s football team. In 2004, Wasco’s family moved to Fair Oaks, California. Little did he know that his next-door neighbor, Teresa, would be his future wife. After meeting each other while Wasco was searching for his pet iguana who escaped outdoors, the pair became fast friends and began dating a few months later. They had been inseparable from that point on.

Upon graduating from high school, Wasco struggled to find direction. His job was in the same parking lot as a recruiting center, so he decided to walk in one day. After having an inspiring conversation with a recruiter, he found his path. He joined the USMC in November of 2008 and was excited at the opportunity to serve his country. Wasco loved the camaraderie he found with his fellow Marines; he formed lifelong bonds that meant the world to him. Additionally, he was appreciative of the stability the Marines provided as well as the ability to provide for his family. Wasco’s initial goal was to find direction, however, after serving his first tour in Afghanistan, he decided that he wanted to serve his country for life. Wasco had received numerous awards and commendations throughout his honorable career, including meritorious masts, a good conduct medal, training course medals, and deployment medals, all of which spoke to his good character. While working as a private security guard one night, Wasco fell incredibly and uncharacteristically ill. After being rushed to the hospital where he remained for several months, he was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. His illness was determined to be linked to burn pit exposure while serving in Afghanistan a few years prior. Several months had gone by, spent in and out of the hospital until hope was given to the Wasco family with a bone marrow transplant. He lived blissfully cancer-free for 30 days until his checkup appointment, where they were informed that his cancer had metastasized. After a grueling battle, Wasco succumbed to his illness in October of 2016, one day shy of his youngest daughter’s first birthday. He was 26 years old.

Teresa and her daughters currently reside on the same street she and her husband met many years ago. They live mere minutes away from both Teresa’s and Wasco’s families, providing the girls with the same close-knit family experience as their father. Teresa’s biggest passions in life are her daughters; she is a mother first, and a homemaker second. In her free time, she enjoys reading, baking, and thrifting. In the future, she is most excited to watch her daughters grow and make a home with them that will become their quintessential childhood home, filled with many priceless memories and that they can come back to as adults. Receiving the donation of a mortgage-free home allows Teresa to fulfill the dream that she and Wasco had from the beginning of their life together. She is eternally grateful for the validation to her family that her husband did not die in vain; Wasco’s legacy lives on in a way Teresa knows he would be proud of. Finally, she would like others to know that Wasco was her high school sweetheart, her best friend, and her soulmate. He was an incredible husband, father, son, brother, and friend. Not a single person knew him as a foe. His life was full of love, laughter, joy, and perseverance. Teresa tells stories of her husband every day with the hope that Wasco’s story lives on through her words.

United States Marine Corps Corporal Ricardo “Ricky” Wasco is survived by his loving wife, Teresa, his daughters, his mother, Karen, his sister, Olivia, and his step-father, Marty, as well as his father, Rick, and his brother, Eddie.

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation has provided the Wasco family with a mortgage-free home through the Gold Star Family Home Program.