Honorable Mention
Oceanographer sets sail as 'Father of the Year'

By Jean Chow
Advertiser Staff Writer

Richard Radtke, Hawai'i's 2001 Multiple Sclerosis Father of the Year, supervises as Ocean, 7, and wife Judith make a shave ice at the Aloha Special Technology Access Center booth at the Taste of Honolulu event. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

He is also Hawai'i's 2001 Multiple Sclerosis Father of the Year. Despite being paralyzed from the neck down, Radtke interacts with his 7-year-old daughter Ocean every opportunity he gets. "(Ocean) gets a lot of chances to be involved with lots of neat stuff. She isn't excluded from anything," said Shane Gilmore, a science teacher at Roosevelt High School who has known Radtke for several years.

Gilmore isn't kidding. As one of the world's leading oceanographers, Radtke's work often takes him on trips to do research in places as far away as Greenland, and that's exactly where he's taking his wife and daughter on his next expedition. "I don't want her to miss out on things," said Radtke of his daughter.

Radtke was selected for the Father of the Year title by the Hawai'i division of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in recognition for his outstanding accomplishments as a parent, despite the daily challenges imposed by the disease. "Family always comes first for Richard. Maybe he can't do things like other dads, but he always has time for his daughter," said Lyn Moku, division manager.

The title came as a slight surprise to Radtke. "Lyn had asked me if they (the society) could nominate me. I said OK and never gave it another thought," he said with a laugh.

Multiple sclerosis, a chronic and often disabling disease of the central nervous system, affects different people in varying degrees, causing symptoms from numbness of limbs to paralysis. Radtke was diagnosed with the disease at age 27 and became quadriplegic two years later.

"The first two years were hard, having to deal with issues I never had to deal with before," said Radtke. "I have always been an active person, and I was used to being very physical." The tremendous change in his life sent Radtke into a period of depression.

During this time, he went through a divorce from his first wife, with whom he has a 14-year-old son, David. "I thought I had lost my family," he said.

Now married to his second wife, Judith, for almost nine years, Radtke no longer thinks his life is over because of MS. "I treasure very much the time spent with my family. We have our own 'rituals': We eat dinner together every night, and they always come out to meet me when I come home," he said. His son, David, who lives with his mom in San Diego, visits often during the holidays and other vacation times.

In addition to fatherhood and family life, Radtke is a busy man.

He is a renowned fisheries oceanographer, a research professor at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa and serves on the advisory council for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in Hawai'i and board of directors of the Hawai'i Center for Independent Living, the Easter Seals, and the Aloha Special Technology Access Center. He also directs several camps and programs for people with disabilities, such as one called "Ocean of Potentiality," in which youths with disabilities are assisted in preparing for careers in science, math, engineering and technology.

Almost as though he is a college student all over again, "I spend half my time doing field research and writing papers," said Radtke. Much of the writing consists of program and grant proposals, all fueled by a dedication to helping others with disabilities. "I want to make a difference in the world, one life at a time," he said.

And Radtke's doing so.

Along with the camps and programs he has already established, a life goal of Radtke is to start a nonprofit organization called "Ocean of Dreams" in order to bring technology into the hands of disabled people, especially in developing countries such as the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia. "He's a dedicated scientist. He could easily shift out of doing this and just teach, but it's not the same," said Gilmore, who works with Radtke on camps and grant writing.

Despite multiple sclerosis, Radtke has a positive view of life. "The things that happen to you before bring you to where you are now," he said, adding that he feels fortunate that he is doing the things he wants to do, with the people he loves most at his side.

"My life is my hobby, and I have quite a bit of fun," Radtke said.