Richard 'Dick' Fitchie of Elgin remembred for generosity
Richard "Dick" Fitchie was remembered as a generous man who cherished his family and friends, and was passionate about serving the Elgin community.
Fitchie, 70, died Sunday of complications from congestive heart failure, said his partner, Peggi Lathrop of West Dundee.
He graduated in 1964 from St. Edward Central Catholic High School and later from Murray State University in Kentucky. He worked for 43 years for Brady Ready Mix Co. and Meyer Material Co., starting as a truck driver and moving to sales until his retirement in 2009.
He was passionate about his high school and the Elgin Sports Hall of Fame, for which he fundraised and served on boards, Lathrop said. He also loved to fish and golf, and spend the winter months in Fort Meyers Beach, Florida.
He had many lifelong friendships and never said a bad word about anybody, Lathrop said.
"With Dick, everything was an enjoyment. You can't say it enough about what an outstanding human being he was," she said. "He was a man you could count on. He was always there to pick you up when you needed it."
Everyone wanted to be his friend, said Kerry O'Connor of Elgin.
"He was probably the most generous person I met. He probably had 1,000 friends, or more," said O'Connor, who served on the Elgin Sports Hall of Fame board with Fitchie. "I don't know anybody that didn't like the guy."
Fitchie was among the creators of the group's annual golf outing, which funds student scholarships and is now in its 12th edition.
"He worked tirelessly, to a fault, in that people on the board wanted to help him and asked him to give them ... things to do," said fellow board member Mark Sharf of Elgin.
Fitchie inherited his love for St. Edward from his father, Don Fitchie, a founding member of the school's booster club, said Frank Celarek of Elgin.
"He worked in any way he saw fit or in any way people asked him in relation to St. Edward Central Catholic High School, serving both the students and the student athletes," said Celarek, a fellow booster club board member. "That was Dick."
He even contributed to the school in his last days, Celarek said. "He gave me a check, and at the golf outing yesterday (Monday), Dick's name was on a sign sponsoring a hole," he said. "That was something."
Dick Fitchie was active in the Elgin Riverside Club, which elected him "Man of the Year" in 2003, a longtime member of the Elgin Turners Club, and a social member of the American Legion.
He also is survived by his sister, Donna James, several nieces and nephews, and other relatives.
Visitation is 3 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Laird Funeral Home, 310 S. State St. in Elgin, and at 9:30 a.m. at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, 215 Thomas More Drive in Elgin, where a funeral Mass begins at 10:30 a.m. Burial will follow at River Valley Memorial Gardens in West Dundee.