Sadly, after fighting a mysterious lung infection, local Real Estate agent Rick Sands has passed away

Sadly, Rick Sands, a well-loved community member, passed away peacefully over the weekend after a battle with a rare autoimmune disease.

Sands worked as a Real Estate Broker at RE/MAX All City in Burien.

As we previously reported, Sands was admitted to an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) after being admitted to the ER on Aug. 12, 2024, with a severe, unidentified lung condition.

His daughter, Olivia, shared the heartbreaking news on Sunday, Aug. 25 in a Facebook post, expressing the family’s deep gratitude for the support they have received during the past few weeks.

Doctors at Swedish First Hill worked tirelessly to diagnose and treat the mysterious illness attacking Sands’ lungs, but despite their efforts, they were unable to identify the exact cause in time. Olivia noted that her father fought hard but did not suffer, spending his final week comfortable and free of pain.

In keeping with Sands’ wishes, the family will not hold a traditional funeral.

“He hated funerals,” Olivia wrote, adding that her father would have preferred a celebration filled with music and stories. Plans are underway for a memorial event in early 2025, after the holidays, where friends and family, both current and from the past, can gather to honor his memory. Details of the event will be shared at a later date.

Olivia also mentioned her father’s long-held dream of writing a book to share his many stories. In his memory, she is collecting anecdotes and photos from friends and loved ones to create a book of remembrance. She invites anyone who has stories or images of Rick to contribute by emailing them to ricksands1964@gmail.com.

The Sands family expressed their immense gratitude to the doctors and nurses at Swedish First Hill, who provided exceptional care during Rick’s final weeks. Olivia shared that her father frequently praised the hospital staff, noting their dedication and compassion despite the challenging circumstances.

“We are eternally grateful for them,” she wrote, acknowledging the role they played in making Rick’s final days as comfortable as possible.

The family is overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support from the community and will continue to share updates on the planned celebration of Rick’s life.

A GoFundMe page has been started to help Rick’s family cover medical and others costs.

Here’s what Olivia posted on Facebook:

“Hi everyone – Rick’s daughter, Olivia here.

“It is with broken hearts that we share Rick passed away peacefully this weekend. The doctors think he had a rare autoimmune disease and worked tirelessly to try to diagnose him. They treated him with everything they could without knowing what was attacking his lungs. As hard as they tried, we didn’t have enough time. His body fought as hard as it could, and we never wanted him to suffer. He was comfortable and not in pain during his final week.

“He hated funerals. A group of his friends and family sitting in a room crying together sounds like his idea of a nightmare. Selfishly, I’m not ready for it either. He loved a good celebration, and I know he would want it to be a music filled, storytelling event. It would’ve meant the world to him to have friends both current and from the past in attendance; we will most likely hold something in the beginning of 2025 after the holidays. I will post details here when the time comes.

“My dad always wanted to write a book and told me he would share more of his stories “one day”, (even though I think we heard a portion of them more times than I could count

). I know he is well connected on here, and I would love to put together a book of stories and photos to remember him. We know he liked to have a good time and would love to hear them all – the good, the bad, the ugly, and the crazy! I don’t have many photos of him except the ones I took or the ones he has been tagged in on Facebook, so anything people have that they can share, I would be extremely grateful for. I have created an email where people can send in both stores and photos: ricksands1964@gmail.com. Thank you in advance for the time and effort to share.

“I can’t finish this post without mentioning the doctors and nurses at Swedish First Hill that cared for him in his final weeks of life. Every person we crossed paths with at the hospital was truly a hero. The doctors and nurses rotated fairly regularly and he moved floors a couple times, so there wasn’t a lot of staff that he saw more than once. The day shift staff we met took as much time as we needed to answer questions and walk us through this entire process. At night, he would call me and tell me how amazing his “new” nurses and doctors were. In a place where there is a lot of physical and mental pain, they went above and beyond around the clock to make it the best it could be for him and us. We are eternally grateful for them.

“Thank you to everyone for the kind, supportive words and love towards all of us these last couple of weeks. He would’ve been overwhelmed by the support of everyone, and so are we.”

Everyone at South King Media sends out their deepest sympathies to all who knew and loved Rick (including us).