Richard Echorst

Richard Lewis Echorst, 82, of Owego, entered into the arms of his Lord on Tuesday August 8th following a brief and unexpected illness. Youngest of five, Dick was preceded in death by his parents Fredrick and Helen Echorst, and four brothers, Elmer, Bill, Clarence, & Ernie, all taken much too young. Dick is survived by his wife of 57 years Sandra Jean, daughters Lori (Richard) Maynard, Owego, New York and Wendy (Dan) Barcus, Knoxville, Tennessee; grandson Keith Maynard (fianc Kristine Jackson), Endicott, NY; granddaughter Kaitlin Maynard, Owego, NY; grandaughter-in-spirit Elise Thornley, Binghamton, NY; and niece Coleen (Echorst) Dalola. Those who knew Dick, and there were many, could speak to Dicks devotion and love of family. A lifelong resident of Tioga County, Dick was born on July 29th, 1935 and spent his formative years in Richford where the family owned the local service station. Always active, Dick excelled in basketball and baseball during his school years at Newark Valley High. He often spoke fondly of the great competition he experienced playing "town baseball", but eventually chose family over pursuit of professional ball. Sports always remained a key part of his life, whether coaching teener league baseball, playing fast pitch softball into his 50s, bowling in leagues or with family, and in his later years playing golf whenever he could with his partner in crime, son-in-law Rich, and grandkids Keith and Kaitlin. He opened daughters Lori and Wendy to a world of fishing, snowmobiling and stock car racing when they were young, and when he wasnt playing sports, he was following the Yankees, Steelers and Duke Blue Devils, and reminiscing about his favorite players, Dolph Schayes, Stan Musial, Bob Feller, Nolan Ryan and Andy Pettitte. Handy with tools, Dick built his familys first two homes, and when it came time to raising his family, Dick demonstrated his strong work ethic, holding only two jobs over the rest of his lifetime. It began with thirty five years at IBM, immediately followed by a twenty seven year career in real estate, predominately with Century 21 Sbarra & Wells. To Dick, real estate was more than just a way to make a living. He built great relationships and great friendships, and took the greatest joy helping people buy their first house. He practiced what he called his personal PHDs "Patience, Honesty and Dedication", and was known for going above and beyond. Surrounded by his family at the end, Pops death at 82 was a shock to all, as those who knew him felt there was still so much more life left for him to live. The family would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to the nursing staff at the Robert Packer Hospital ICU, who made Pops last days as comfortable as possible. A private family celebration of life will be held at a later date. MacPherson Funeral Home, Newark Valley, is assisting the family. Condolences may be written in Dick's online guestbook at macphersonfh.com. In lieu of flowers, the family would ask you to please consider a donation to the American Cancer Society to benefit cancer research.