Richard Lester Hochleutner

Our beloved husband and father, Richard Lester Hochleutner, died peacefully at home in the presence of his family on December 1, 2022. He was 30 days short of his 80th birthday.

Richard was born December 31, 1942, in Piqua, Ohio to Lester Robert and Siama (Helman) Hochleutner. He was the middle of three children. The family moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan and, in 1952, to Elmwood Park, Illinois when his father became Executive Vice President of Woodward Schumacher (later Schumacher Electric) Corporation. His mother was a homemaker.

Richard spent many childhood summers vacationing at the family cottage in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula where he enjoyed hiking and fishing.

Richard graduated from Elmwood Park High School where he was captain of the football team. He was an alumnus of the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, where he also played football. In his senior year, he played in the 1964 Rose Bowl in which the Illini defeated the University of Washington. He was a member of Beta Sigma Psi fraternity.

Richard spent his career working in the automotive parts industry. He was National Sales Manager for Schumacher Electric Corporation and Carrand International. He moved with his family to Del Mar, California in 1984, when he began working as a manufacturer’s representative. He established his own agency, RH Marketing, in 1994, which served Southern California and Baja California (Mexico).

Richard was, above all, a family man. A loving husband and wonderful father, he was a cubmaster and little league coach. He loved camping and backpacking with his family. He was a builder of bookcases, treehouses and doll houses. He took pride in his garden, and always gave good advice and gentle encouragement to his children and grandchildren. His family will miss Grandpa Bear very much.

He is survived by his wife, Mary (Molony): his four sons and their wives: Michael (Nelya), Brian (Claire); Thomas (Kristen), and James (Alexis): ten grandchildren: Sofia, Nolan, Frances, Jack, Oscar, Teddy, Edith, Olivia, Henry, and Reese; his sister, Barbara Maschek, and his niece, Susan Szekeres.

He was predeceased by his parents, his sister, Joan Rathbone, and his nephew, Larry Bank.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated at Mary Magdalen Apostle Catholic Community located at Gethsemane Lutheran Church in San Diego, on December 29 at 9:30 a.m. His remains will be interred at Mission San Luis Rey Cemetery in Oceanside at 2:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations to Feeding San Diego or Father Joe’s Villages would be appreciated.