Richard Lichti

Lichti, Reverend Dr. Richard J. (January 1944 – December 2021) of Holland Michigan. Richard was born in Wasco, California and grew up in Medford, Oregon. He is the youngest son of Carl and Lydia (Thiessen) Lichti and had an older brother, Robert. Richard was a lifelong learner. He graduated from the University of Oregon Phi Beta Kappa, Princeton Theological Seminary and New York Theological Seminary. He served in churches on staff in Princeton and Lawrenceville, New Jersey; Benton, Pennsylvania; Jackson, Michigan; Pella, Iowa and Bronxville, New York. Although, Dr. Lichti comes from a Dutch-Swiss Mennonite tradition, he was ordained and served in both the Presbyterian and Reformed Church of America denominations. Having spent 23 years at the Reformed Church of Bronxville, he was a Minister of Christian Education and Youth, Minister of Congregational Life, and twice served as Interim Head-of-Staff. While there, he served on many non-profit boards and wrote several curricula for children and adults. He was an accomplished storyteller, teacher and preacher. He had the ability to combine scripture with stories, real and authored, in a way that spoke to each person individually and meaningfully. His incredible curiosity led him to hobbies involving bird photography, sailing, motorcycling, kayaking and collecting model cars. He will best be remembered for a deep love for his family and others. He lived a life of gratitude for family, community, and nations. He is survived by his wife Karen (Johnson) Lichti of 55 years, and their two sons; William (Tonya) Lichti and Christopher (Rinku) Lichti; his 7 grandchildren, India (Michael Miller) and William (Nicole) Lichti, Seth Lichti, Allyana and Rashawn Krussell, Ayeden and Akiko Lichti and great granddaughter Hazel Grace Miller. A memorial service will be held on January 21, 2022, at Ridge Point Community Church in Holland, Michigan at 10am. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation at www.cff.org/donate.