By Amelia Orwick | Managing Editor

aorwick@kykernel.com

Although many in Lexington claim to bleed blue, it was red on the minds of those in attendance at R.J. “Rick” Corman’s funeral at his Nicholasville airplane hangar on Monday.

The 58-year-old was founder of R.J. Corman Railroad Group, known for its red railroad cars. His entrepreneurial success enabled him to give generously to the Lexington community, particularly to UK Athletics.

Hundreds payed their respects to Corman, who was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2001. The disease is a cancer of plasma cells, which is found in the bone marrow, according to the Mayo Clinic website. Corman died at his home in Nicholasville around 11 a.m. on Aug. 23.

Dr. Paul Richardson, friend and oncologist to Corman, spoke at the funeral about Corman’s resilience.

“It’s not the bad bounce. It’s the bounce back,” Richardson said, quoting UK men’s basketball head coach John Calipari.

Calipari, who was also at the funeral, has also attested to Corman’s character since his passing.

“He had one of the worst forms of cancer you could have, and yet he fought it for more than a decade while growing his company exponentially,” Calipari said on his website on Monday. “Think about what he would have been able to do as a cancer-free man.”

However, Corman managed to fit 100-years worth of life into just 58, said Jon Weece, the Southland Christian Church pastor.

Other than Corman’s railroad company, which provides services such as construction, equipment rental, material sales and shortline railroads, Corman launched My Old Kentucky Dinner Train in both Bardstown in 1988 and Lexington this month.

From a philanthropic standpoint, Corman was well-known for his 5K race and Fourth of July celebration, both held annually on his property in Nicholasville. Perhaps most notably, Corman and his company were the largest philanthropic supporters of Saint Joseph Hospital in the hospital’s history.

Music at the service, which included songs like “My Way” and “Life is Like a Mountain Railway,” shed light on Corman’s personality.

And what these songs failed to tell about Corman, his family and friends said themselves. Remembrances centered around Corman’s love for his God, partner Tammie Taylor, five children, company and Kentucky.

Weece joked that God loved Rick because Rick loved Kentucky, and God loves Kentucky more than any other state.

Corman was also remembered for his humor, and Calipari had the last laugh.

“I always said I would never wear red, but in honor of my friend, I’m going to wear a Rick Corman red jacket to one or more games this season … but I promise I will never wear orange (credit pointer),” Calipari said in his post on Monday. “Oh, and it won’t be for the Louisville game either.”