Obituary of Alphonse J. Rickli

RICKLI - Alphonse J. ("Al") Rickli, 93, died on February 13, 2015, at the Harris Hill Nursing Home in Clarence, New York. Mr. Rickli was born on February 26, 1921, in New York, New York, the son of the late Alphonse and Mary (Grajcar) Rickli. He was a resident of Manhattan until 1950 when he moved to Cliffside Park, New Jersey following his marriage to Emma Malillo of Fort Lee, New Jersey. He resided in Cliffside Park until Emma's death in 2003 when he relocated to Clarence, New York, the home of his son Richard and daughter-in-law Elizabeth Rickli. Al was a veteran and served as a sergeant in the United States Army Air Corps in Europe during World War II. He participated in the Dolittle Raid on Tokyo, the invasion of Normandy, the liberation of Paris, the Battle of the Bulge and the liberation of the Buchenwald concentration camp. He was employed by the U.S. Postal Service for 25 years, working at the Grand Central Post Office in Manhattan. He then became the office manager for the American Diabetes Association, also in Manhattan, for the next 10 years. A devout Catholic, for many years, Al attended mass daily. He was an active parishioner at the Church of the Epiphany in Cliffside Park, NJ for more than 50 years, and volunteered at many parish events including the annual church carnival. In addition to his wife of 53 years, Emma, Mr. Rickli is predeceased by his sisters, Mary Costello, Pia Rickli and Claire Holbert. He is survived by his sister Pauline Gorbe of Jackson, NJ; his son, Richard, and his wife, Elizabeth, of Clarence, NY; his son, William, and his wife, June, of Liverpool, NY and grandchildren, Kyle Rickli, and his wife, Andrea, of Boston, MA; Stephen Rickli of New York, NY; Christopher Rickli and his wife, Roberta Rickli, of Great Falls, VA; Dan Rickli and his wife, Casey Martin Rickli, of Shrewsbury, MA; Kate Rickli of Charlotte, NC; and four great-grandchildren, Claire, Emma, Grace and Nora Rickli. The Rickli family will be present to receive family and friends on Friday, February 27 from 4-7 PM at McCorry Brothers Funeral Home, 780 Anderson Avenue, Cliffside Park, NJ 07010. A funeral mass will be held on Saturday, February 28, at the Church of the Epiphany, 247 Knox Avenue, Cliffside Park, NJ 07010 at 10:00 AM. Entombment will follow at the Garden of Memories, Township of Washington, NJ. In lieu of flowers, those who wish may make a memorial gift to the Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood Foundation ( www.SUDC.org), 549 Pompton Avenue, Cedar Grove, NJ 07009 in memory of Al Rickli.