Lori Malfa-Rich

Lori Jean Malfa-Rich was born on October 5th, 1957 at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Newton, Massachusetts to Concetta Mary Cangemi and Charles Frederick Malfa. Lori was the middle of six children: Todd, Tab, Lori, Brad, Tracey and Ross. At 13 Frost Street in Natick, MA she had a tough childhood and grew up quickly; making her into a strong, smart, independent woman. She worked as a waitress among other odd jobs to put herself through college at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams and earned her bachelors degree in business administration and management. While looking for a job in her field, a friend referred her to someone hiring named Jim Rich. The two met and Lori immediately disliked him, she thought he was an arrogant ass! But after speaking with him she realized her first impression was wrong and she was hired as his employee. It didn’t hurt that he owned a used car lot and she needed a car! Not long after that he asked her out and they started dating.

They broke up once during their seven year courtship. One time when they were separated, Lori went on a date with someone else. After her date, Lori’s car broke down on the drive home and she walked to the closest residence to ask to use their landline. While she was making the call, there was a knock at the door and Lori was surprised to hear the puzzled homeowner say to her “It’s for you...?” and standing there was Jim! He had apparently followed Lori while she went on the date, witnessed her car break down and came to the rescue.

Lori Jean Malfa married James Freeman Rich on October 27th, 1987 at Waquoit Congregational Church and held the after party at their Cape Cod home, Whistler Way. Whistler Way was a beautiful, sprawling property the couple had built together. It was a light and bright home sitting on an acre of land which became the hub of all their friends and family get togethers.

On August 15th, 1990 Lori gave birth to a beautiful baby girl she named Chloe. Right away Chloe was her pride and joy, a tiny 5 pound baby with firey red hair who people always stopped in the street to admire. They called her "a little porcelain doll." Becoming a new mother was hard for Lori, especially when they moved 1,500 miles away to Marco Island, Florida where she had no friends or family to speak of. Jim worked full time at DeVoe Cadillac so it was just Lori and Chloe in their little apartment by the beach. Anxiety and postpartum depression were real, and Lori sought counseling to cope. Eventually they moved into a house in Naples, Florida and soon after Lori met Noreen Edlund at BodyQuest Gym. Anyone who knows Lori knows she is a health and fitness freak. Noreen and her family are still to this day the Rich’s second family.

Lori would say she is a "self proclaimed" techie. She worked as teacher at VoTech School in Naples and started her own computer tutoring business for people who needed at-home help. Her business brought many wonderful clients she came to consider dear friends after years gone by.

In 2002 the family moved to Nokomis, Florida into a big yellow house where they happily lived for the next 17 years. They got a dog after Chloe begged and pleaded for years for a specifically, blonde, chihuahua. Ironically Jim’s first wife Diana had a litter of chihuahua puppies that had one single blonde pup. Diana intended to sell the puppies but grew too attached, so each grandchild conveniently got a new chihuahua puppy. Chloe's was named Uno (she was the first one out!) and she was the perfect addition to the family. They swooned over Uno every day as if it was the day they got her. She was spoiled rotten. A total princess, a queen, diva, and definitely the most important member of the family! As Chloe got older and went off to college, Uno became Lori's dog. The two of them were literally attached. Lori fed her a healthy diet of vegetables and protein, even splurging sometimes on Uno's favorite - lamb. Every day she drove Uno to one of their local parks to give the little nine-pound dog a walk twice a day.

In 2012, Lori began working at AT&T where she met Sue, Rich, and others with whom she formed a friendship and had many good times with both in and out of the store. However it was soon time to expand her career. She came across a job post advertising the opening of an Apple store in Sarasota and contemplated applying. "Why would they hire an old lady like me?" she wondered aloud to Chloe, not thinking she would be any good. “Oh what the heck," she said as she finally applied and effortlessly got through the first round of interviews, then the second, then was staying in Tampa for a week-long training for the grand opening of the store! Lori not only survived at the new Apple store, but thrived. She climbed to the top with customer ratings and bonded with her Apple family. She talked about Apple all the time at home, whether it was a fitness challenge, a cranky or famous customer she had that day, the Goddess Group, a product that she would be presenting to her team, or Franklin's "to die for" mac and cheese. Lori was genuinely interested in all the latest and greatest Apple gadgets and continuing her education in the industry. But more importantly to her, she loved her Apple family deeply and was greatly valued in reciprocity.

Lori's life changed drastically when her husband was diagnosed with dementia. This was an incredibly hard pill to swallow and sadness washed over her as she came to the realization her husband and rock was slipping away. Life wasn't happy. Weeks turned to months turned to years as she transitioned from wife to caregiver; a role that demanded everything from her. There were still moments of joy and her iconic laughter, but a gloominess was underlying.

In 2020 Lori was diagnosed with mucosal melanoma. At this time the seriousness wasn’t known, and after a minor surgery she thought that was that. In 2023 it came back with a vengeance and treatments were not working. She was told the next step will be a massive surgery but this was her worst nightmare. Loved ones begged and pleaded and reluctantly Lori agreed to the surgery. Unfortunately the cancer had already spread and after only one round of chemo, she bounced back to the ER four times in two months with complications, pain, and infections. The infections eventually took over. Her body had been through so much.

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Lori is a gem. A sweet-natured, warm and naturally caring person. She's also cool, calm, and collected. Her qualities made her a wonderful, loving friend to so many. Dozens of people have come forward and said Lori has been their rock... She's a sounding board friends went to in times of turmoil.... A confidant and judgement-free zone. She was always the voice of positivity and looked for the good in others and in situations. And then there was her dorky side. Anyone who's heard her rap, shake her hips totally off beat, or tell a dad-joke would shake their head, face palm, and laugh. But that is Lori. So genuinely dorky and silly and always striving to have fun.

From Chloe: Growing up my mom and I had a typical mother/daughter relationship. We fought a lot. As a child I had unique needs and in middle and high school there was tension between us. However, as I got older we became quite close. I started my journey of self betterment and elevating my consciousness. I realized there was trauma passed down through mother/daughter relationships in our family. I realized she is a flawed human being but she did not have a mean bone in her body. I realized she did the best she could with the tools she had, and that she loved me more than anything in this world. In my career I preferred seasonal jobs and I always had a cozy warm home to come back to thanks to her. We spent many nights on the couch watching shows and laughing. We took daily walks together and she asked what was on my mind. She was my best friend, my rock, the person in my corner, the glue that held me together.

When we were faced with the terrible last leg of her cancer journey, I loved her as fiercely as I could. I was by her side every step of the way. When she was home, I slept in her bed and set alarms through the night for her medications. I rubbed her back when she was nauseated and got sick. I picked out her clothes and helped her shower. When she was home for the last time, I gave her her last pedicure. I meticulously applied pink sparkly nail polish that was still on her toes when she died. Our roles switched during those months and I am so grateful I got to reflect back the love she gave me. I hope she understood how loved, cherished, and cared for she was and still is.

When you spoke to my mom even for a moment you would immediately feel special. She had a warm gentleness that wrapped around you and a sharp mind that remembered details about your life you might’ve even forgot you told her. She is quirky, smart, silly, unique, kind, fun, brave, strong, and so incredibly beautiful INSIDE and OUT. The world and a massive amount of people have lost a truly special and bright human that made this a better place. I will miss her for the rest of my life. Thank you for creating me and giving me a wonderful life Mom. We were first connected in the womb but we will always be connected; it is a bond that cannot be severed, not even by death. I love you to infinity and beyond. My beautiful Mama.