Rick Wege

Rick Wege, 38, passed away at his home in Sydney, Australia, on Thursday, December 6, 2018, after a courageous 11-year battle with cancer.

He was born in Hinesville, Georgia on September 15, 1980 - his father's birthday.  It was the best birthday present his Dad ever had.

Rick graduated from Liberty County High School in 1999.  He played soccer - scoring 30 goals in an 11- game season, baseball, and ran cross country - and went to state.   He won Male Athlete of the year his senior year.

He went off to college at The University of South Carolina at Spartanburg where he played soccer for 4 years and graduated with a B.S. in Biology in 2004.  It was there that he met the love of his life, Nina Lesnanska, and for the next 15 years, theirs was a true love story.   In 2016, he earned his master’s degree in Environmental and Business Management at The University of Newcastle.

Rick loved the outdoors and many sports. His two favorite places were Disney World and Las Vegas.

He is survived by his loving wife, Nina, and his beloved dog, Essi; his parents, Dr. Bill and Carol Wege; his brother, Billy Wege (Shorouk); sisters, Leigh McKinney (Christopher) and Laura Voccio (Paul); nephews, Silas Voccio and Nolan McKinney; nieces, lssabella Wege, Hannah Wege and Scarlet Voccio.

A memorial service will be held at Bryant Commons at 1 pm on Thursday, December 20th, 2018.  In case of inclement weather, it will be moved to Hinesville First United Methodist Church.

In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to Gerson.org or Seashepherd.org.