Richard Stricker to be honored
Borough’s Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously given to longtime cemetery caretaker, former borough councilman
The 2018 winner of Lansdale’s Lifetime Achievement Award is one who has left a lasting impact on several areas of the town, and is now enjoying one of those for eternity.
Richard Stricker, the longtime caretaker of the Lansdale Cemetery and a former councilman, has been chosen by borough nonprofit Discover Lansdale as the latest award winner.
“Mr. Stricker is probably one of the last true characters this town has had. He has left his mark in many ways, and we’re excited to celebrate that,” said council member Mary Fuller.
Stricker passed away in November 2015 after spending all but three of his 84 years in Lansdale, according to Reporter archives, graduating from Lansdale High School in 1950, and then working as a self-employed heating contractor from 1952 to ‘59, before joining local heating company Clyde S. Walton Inc. in 1959 as their first service technician.
In the early 1960s, Stricker led an effort to preserve the Lansdale Cemetery, located at Broad Street and Whites Road, after it fell into disrepair, and in 1964 he was named president, superintendent, curator and record keeper of
the cemetery, roles he held until a takeover by the borough was finalized in 20122013.
“If you knew Dick, it wasn’t beyond him to just show up at your house, uninvited — but you always invited him in — or unannounced, and if he had a question or an issue on his mind, he wasn’t shy about telling you about it,” Fuller said.
“I always loved to hear his recounting of old time council meetings, and how the two sides in his day could come together for the benefit of the borough
— not always, but sometimes. Politics is always politics, but he certainly was dedicated to this borough,” she said.
Stricker researched the burial records of all but a handful of those buried in the cemetery, raised money for its restoration, worked with borough IT staff to create an online map of those buried there, and reserved an upper level spot in the mausoleum for himself. Fuller said Wednesday night that repair work currently underway on the cemetery’s mausoleum would not have been possible without Stricker’s efforts.
“Often at his own expense, he provided the upkeep for the cemetery,
formed the committee, he bequeathed a nice amount to the cemetery after his passing, and of course that’s his residence at this time,” she said.
Stricker also served on borough council from 1976-80, helped back efforts to build a new station for the Fairmount Fire Company at the corner of Vine Street and Susquehanna Avenue in the late 1970s, and also pushed for an early version of what ultimately became the town’s Wood-Vine Connector Route, a bypass road in front of the fire station along Vine, Susquehanna, Derstine Avenue and Wood Street.
“That was his idea in the very beginning, and
he was fortunate enough to live to see that implemented, and to actually ride in the lead car” in a parade along the finished route, said Fuller.
Stricker will be the second posthumous winner of the award, joining North Penn High School principal and Marching Knights band director Stephen Frederick in 2014. Other award winners have included longtime fire chief Jay Daveler in 2012, Parks and Recreation Director Carl Saldutti in 2013; former journalist and Lansdale Historical Society President Dick Shearer in 2015; business owner and Lansdale Business Association head Margie Booz in 2016; and North Penn
Boys and Girls Club CEO Bob Kreamer in 2017.
“He was a property owner, he was a great landlord, just a wonderful contributor to the borough in all aspects of his life. He was just a good community member, and we’ll highlight that on Founders Day,” Fuller said.
Family members of Stricker have been invited to attend the ceremony, which will be held at borough hall at 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 25 as the kickoff to the borough’s Founders Day festivities meant to mark the borough’s birthday. The mausoleum itself may still be off-limits, but Fuller said a guided tour of the cemetery will be part of the day’s events, starting
at 9:15 a.m. and led by Lansdale Historical Society members.
“The information about Dick and his contributions to this town, goes on and on. Anybody who knew Mr. Stricker has a story to share, and we will be inviting people to do that this year at Founders Day: share some of their favorite Dick Stricker stories,” Fuller said. “If you knew him, you had one.”