Richard Schertle

SCHERTLE, Richard August 1, 1940-January 29, 2006. Richard enjoyed a passion for life and was fortunate in achieving multiple successes both personally and professionally. He was an outspoken man with strong convictions and high moral character. As a youth, he achieved Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts. He later proudly served four years in the U.S. Navy and was a diehard patriot. After becoming a small plane pilot in his early 20's, he took a job as a flight instructor at a small airport, and shortly thereafter signed on with Continental Airlines, where he spent 18 years piloting commercial airliners. He loved music, and played in a Dixieland band in high school. While in the Navy, he was a member of the Drum and Bugle Core. In the late 60s and 70s he fell in love with bluegrass music and taught himself to play bluegrass banjo. A skilled carpenter, he became a successful businessman in the home improvement industry after leaving the airlines. He was an avid hiker and served in the field and on the Board of the San Gabriel Mountain Trailbuilders and helped found the Angeles Volunteer Association, where he served many years as President. He had a passion for 40's and 50's hot rods and Harley Davidsons. After moving to Northern California in 1996, he and his wife rode their Harleys nearly 20, 000 miles annually, traveling all across the U.S. and into Canada. He leaves behind wife Diane, sister Mary MacFarlane and brother Russ Schertle, children Jen McManus, Kate Schertle and John Schertle, grandsons Spencer and Dylan McManus, and a close-knit family of brothers and sisters in the wind.