Ricardo J. Alfaro II ’57
Ricardo J. Alfaro II ’57 died of cancer on March 14 in San Francisco. Kim graduated from the Landon School in Bethesda, Maryland. He left Dartmouth after two semesters, joined the U.S. Army, and resumed his education at the University of Virginia. Kim began a career in communications at WRC radio and what became The Muppet Show on NBC TV. He worked with Dave Garroway and on The Huntley-Brinkley Report. In 1966 he moved into public relations with Fairfield Semiconductor with posts in California and Italy. He joined LSI Logic in product public relations and moved again to Tensilica Inc. Soon thereafter he cofounded the Leapfrog Group with friends and partners. The company handled branding, public relations, advertising, and corporate identification for high-tech companies and organizations. He was considered an exceptional branding-awareness strategist before retiring in 2004. A Renaissance man with several talents and hobbies, his first interest was in ham radio. He was especially adept at fly fishing, for which he designed and hand-tied exceptionally intricate lures. He had an enviable ink pen collection, a vast music library, and a carefully curated art collection and was a gifted artist and photographer. An oenophile, he collected fine wines from around the world and cherished his friendship with one of Napa’s storied winemakers, Warren Winiarski, founder of Stag Leap Wine Cellars. Kim leaves behind his wife, Susan, and golden retriever Maggie.
