Robert Raiche, the Portsmouth Rotarian who founded Friends Forever, died on January 1 at age 85.  Bob famously believed that you don’t know truly know someone until you spend time with that person in a lifeboat, and in 1986 he brought together a group of Protestant and Catholic teens from Northern Ireland — teens who had been taught from birth to hate one another— and placed them in a “liferaft” program for several weeks where they soon learned that they had more in common than they had previously thought. Bob's legacy is the hundreds of young people who have gone through the Friends Forever program in the years since to learn peace.  Bob’s legacy is these young people, and his story proves that one person can truly make a difference.    

 

 

 

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Robert Raiche Fund at Friends Forever, 31 Raines Ave #10, Portsmouth, NH 03801.  A Celebration of Life Service for Bob is scheduled at 11:00 a.m. on January 11 at the Danvers Port Yacht Club, Danvers, MA.