Richard Philip Rosenberger Sr.

On April 15, 2025, Dick Rosenberger passed away. Dick is the beloved husband of Judith “Judy” Rosenberger; devoted father of Cyndee DiNardo and husband Hector, Wendy Hoeck and husband Thomas, and Rich Rosenberger, Jr. and wife Ruth; loving grandfather of Mary Hurst and husband Greg, Peter Hoeck, Hector “Nick” DiNardo, Reia, Ruby, and Rich Rosenberger, III; dear brother of the late Diane Kastner and Carol Follin.

Relatives and friends will gather at Schimunek Funeral Home, Inc., 9705 Belair Rd., Nottingham MD 21236, on Thursday, April 24, 1-3 & 5-7 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Patrick’s Church, 615 Congress Ave., Havre De Grace MD 21078 on Friday, April 25, at 11:30 a.m. Interment Most Holy Redeemer Cemetery. On-line condolences may be left @ www.schimunekfuneralhomes.com

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The following eulogy was read by Wendy Hoeck at the Funeral Mass for her father Richard Rosenberger, Sr:

64 years, 11 months, and 23 days.

On April 23, 1960, Richard Philip Rosenberger married Judith Mary Lind, and from that day on he could tell you the exact amount of time they had been married down to the hour. He’d count out the years, months, and days as a point of pride, of love, and sometimes with a hint of exasperation, but no one ever doubted his absolute devotion to his wife and his family.

Dad met the love of his life at a CYO dance. They dated for several years and after a nudge and a hint from his future in-laws, he picked out a ring and proposed to mom at a movie theater. They married and were blessed with 3 children and 6 grandchildren.

Dad worked for over 40 years at BGE. He was a hard worker but had a playful side as well. Over the course of those 40 loyal years, he managed to play no less than 2 practical jokes on 2 different bosses involving 2 different types of cheese. He started innocently enough by putting grated Parmesan inside the boss’s phone. One warm Friday night, he decided to kick things up a notch. He taped Limburger cheese under the boss’s office chair and left it to sit all weekend. Come Monday morning, everyone walking through the office door could smell his practical joke. Pranks aside, he did take pride in his work, and he worked hard, a trait which he made sure all us kids learned too.

Dad was an exceptional athlete and was offered a college basketball scholarship, but he turned it down to support his family instead. Dad gave up his college scholarship, but he never gave up his love of sports. In fact, he was refereeing a basketball game when he found out his first daughter, my sister Cyndee, was about to be born. He immediately ran off the court to be there for her birth.

Dad always had a special place in his heart for children. Some of my favorite childhood memories were of playing sports with dad. It was the highlight of the summer when he would join us and our neighborhood friends for a wiffle ball game. We loved it when he would throw his signature pitch, the dipsy-doodle. After an intense wiffle ball game, dad would gather us and our neighborhood friends and take us to 7-Eleven for slurpees or Missy’s for snowballs.

Dad made sure his son was able to do what he never did and sent my brother Rich off to college on an athletic scholarship. Though Rich never mastered the dipsy-doodle, Dad enthusiastically cheered him on at every baseball game from the time he could throw a ball through the entirety of his college pitching career.

Dad wasn’t just the glue that held the family together; he brought whole neighborhoods together too. He made friends everywhere, and, more impressively, he remembered them all. Even after 50 years he would not only remember names but would recognize the people he played ball or went to school with and would strike up a conversation with them in the middle of a restaurant, farmers market, or parking lot. Dad always opened his house to family and friends. Anyone without a place to go was invited to spend holidays and birthday parties with us, and everyone was invited to mom and dad’s annual Christmas party. In addition, they’d have all the neighbors over for a New Year Day party. Mom and dad would make mushroom omelets for everyone.

When we were little, they’d host a Halloween party for all the kids in the neighborhood. Dad would string up apples, put whipped cream on them, and have us kids try to eat them while keeping our hands behind our backs. It was hilariously entertaining —for all the adults.

Mom and dad would host parties not just for special events in our family. When one of the neighbors’ daughters got back from spending a semester in France, they held a surprise welcome home party for her.

Dad was the kind of person who made sure everyone around him was comfortable and felt welcome. He and mom had their own special ministry to their family and friends. He was always calling people just to check in, sending out cards for birthdays, making sure to remember important dates and events in everyone’s lives. They would visit friends and family who were ill, give them prayer cards and scapulars, and maybe bring them a crab cake sandwich or cheese buns from Fenwick bakery. I remember when we were kids, dad found out that a family he knew from work had hardly anything to their name, so without a second thought he gathered up anything extra we had in the house—clothes, household goods, anything—and he took it over to them right away.

Whenever we went to visit, the first question out of his mouth was always, “what can I get you?” Even when he couldn’t walk anymore, he would still ask, “what can I get you?” He kept that focus on others all through his life. The day before he died, my sister Cyndee was sitting by his bed while he slept. She started crying, and he woke up to ask her if she was okay.

Dad’s concern for his neighbor and his generosity are just two examples of how his deeply rooted Catholic faith manifested itself in his daily life. All through his battle with cancer it was the strength of his faith and his joy and love for his family which kept him going. His conviction that he would beat cancer gave the whole family comfort and confidence and gave him the motivation to get up every day and fight for his health. And, against the odds, he did beat it. Some days he would pray the rosary 5 times a day, and he loved watching Mass from different parts of the world on his iPad.

While he didn’t travel the world outside of watching Mass, he did travel the country. If he could drive there, he probably did. He saw as much of the country as he could, especially during his retirement. He and mom drove cross country 3 different times—not to mention all the other trips they took. He had a story about every corner of this country he loved so much, and usually a restaurant recommendation too. He worked hard during his life and made sure to enjoy retirement just as much.

That was Dad to a tee: a loyal, kind, generous, hardworking family man who left a trail of joy and laughter wherever he went, and I believe that all of us who love God and neighbor as dad did, will be united one day in heaven.