Robert Rivera, 35; film lover rallied for work on stem cells

By Michael Naughton, Globe Correspondent  |  June 1, 2006

Whether he was rallying for stem-cell research or helping customers choose movies at the video store he managed, Robert C. Rivera was always looking for ways to help people.

“He would give [the customers] a film that enriched their lives, that would stay with them,” said Bryan Murray, a longtime friend, former coworker, and former manager of the Kendall Square Cinema. “One of the most amazing things was that he could pull films out of anywhere for what that person was looking for. And he cared. He would remember what the person rented and would ask them what they thought and what their favorite scene was.”

Mr. Rivera, a manager at the Hollywood Express video stores in Cambridge and Somerville and advocate for stem-cell research, died at his Cambridge home Friday from complications of multiple sclerosis. He was 35 .

Mr. Rivera was born in Nebraska, but when his father died in a farming accident when he was 8 weeks old, his mother moved back to Massachusetts, where she had grown up. He graduated from Cambridge Rindge and Latin School in 1988.

He enrolled at Northeastern University and began attending classes but left after less than a week to go to work to help support his mother, whose apartment had been destroyed in a fire.

Mr. Rivera worked in local grocery stores and shops until his passion for movies, especially vintage film noir, led him to Hollywood Express, where he began working as a clerk in the early 1990s.

“He always loved movies,” said his wife, Nikki Rivera. “Some of the clearest memories he had growing up were seeing movies. . . . Nothing made more sense than to have him surrounded by the movies that he loved.”

Customers at Mr. Rivera’s stores never had to waste time wandering the aisles trying to decide what to rent.

“For a very long time in Central and Porter squares, people went to Blockbuster and brought guides to tell them what to rent, but people that went to Hollywood Express would go to Rob as their video guide,” Murray said.

The care he gave each customer and his passion for the job soon got Mr. Rivera promoted to general manager of the small chain of Hollywood Express stores.

While working at Hollywood Express, Mr. Rivera also volunteered at a Cambridge homeless shelter.

Late in 1997, he started having trouble walking, and a year later he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

“He was worried a lot about being a burden on people,” his wife said.

The progression of the symptoms frustrated Mr. Rivera as he could no longer lead his active lifestyle that included playing basketball and traveling.

Six months after his initial diagnosis, he learned he had primary progressive MS, a rare and more severe form. Doctors said he would soon be in a wheelchair, but he continued walking, first with a cane and later crutches, for five years. He continued working until 2002 and was married in 2003 .

Nikki Rivera said her husband became a passionate advocate for stem-cell research, which he saw as his only hope, and together they wrote letters to legislators telling his story.

“He would read the paper from cover to cover every day to see if there was something new that might help him,” she said. “Any time he heard a mention of MS, or the research that was needed, it made his day, to know that he wasn’t being forgotten. . . He knew there would be a cure — he just didn’t know if it would be in time for him.”

He felt a lot of anger about the stem-cell debate, she said.

“It was difficult for him to hear people who were against the research, because to him it was like they were saying: ‘One single cell is worth more than your life,’ ” she said.

Mr. Rivera was raised Catholic and had a strong sense of spirituality, but he didn’t like the idea that stem-cell research had to force a choice between science and religion.

“He thought God could be working through the scientists,” his wife said.

When reading through newspapers, Mr. Rivera would find inspiring stories about children overcoming disabilities and cut them out. His wife said she would later find clippings stockpiled in corners of their apartment.

Mr. Rivera was also known for his wild sense of humor and had a picture of Johnny Cash taped to the back of his wheelchair. He loved music and had played drums and guitar. Mr. Rivera was also a devoted Red Sox fan, attending games as often as he could.

In addition to his wife, he leaves his mother, Kathleen P. (Skehill) of Cambridge.

A funeral Mass will be said today at 10 a.m. in St. Margaret Mary Church in Westwood.

Globe staff writer Jenna Russell contributed to this report.

© Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company.