Photo courtesy of Macagna-Diffily-Onorato Funeral Home - Rutherford
Jun 8, 1934 - Feb 16, 2025
Rich Wilke was my football Coach while we played football for the Squires and the Knight in Rutherford. He was a great guy and will always remember him. Ron and Russ were also St Mary's school mates. RIP Rich. My condolences to the Wilke Family.
Rick Molner
February 24, 2025 | East Norriton, PA | Friend
WILKE, Richard C. 90, of Woodland Park, NJ (formerly of Rutherford, NJ) passed away on February 16,2025. Born in Jersey City, Rich grew up in Union City delivering newspapers and attending Emerson High School.
Rich began his career working for Mason Dixon as a local truck driver. He competed in several National Truck Rodeos, proudly winning multiple national championships in the Four Axel Tank Class Speed and Skill Challenge, twice winning a new car and other prizes.
He later worked for Walsh Trucking in North Bergen, NJ, delivering pipes for the Salem, NJ Nuclear Power Plant, among other projects. He ended his career working for the Rutherford Board of Education overseeing maintenance at Rutherford High School.
Rich loved being down the shore, spending many weekends in Toms River, crabbing, fishing, and visiting the boardwalk, before moving there full-time for a number of years in retirement. He also spent part of his retirement in his Florida homes before moving back to NJ.
He was quick with a smile and happy to have a conversation, a man who was always willing to try and fix something or offer some advice. A longtime Mets and Jets fan, Rich coached his children over several years and loved attending his grandchildren’s sporting events.
Beloved husband of Rosemarie (nee Kasper) Wilke. Loving father of Russ & his wife Barbara, Ron, Geralyn Caughey & her husband Pat, Dave & his wife Heather. Stepfather of Laura Abrom and Mary Rose Driscoll. Cherished grandfather of 15 Grandchildren and two Great Grandchildren, all of whom loved “Pop” dearly.
Rich struggled in his last years as dementia took its toll, but he still found ways to make an impact on his grandchildren, whether with a rediscovered word of wisdom, a little joke that he remembered, or his beaming smile when surrounded by family.
Family & Friends will be received Friday, February 21, 2025 from 4-8PM at the Macagna Diffily Onorato Funeral Home, 41 Ames Ave, Rutherford, NJ. Funeral will be Saturday February 22, 2025 at 9 :30 AM from the Macagna Diffily Onorato Funeral Home, followed by a Funeral Mass at 10 :30 AM at St. Mary RC Church, Rutherford, NJ. Cremation to follow.
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