Richard Clair Eichelberger

Richard Clair Eichelberger, age 70 years, died on January 6, 2024, at Sanford Hospital, Fargo, ND, surrounded by loved ones.

He was born on December 4, 1953, in Fargo, ND, to George and Evylin (Hemple) Eichelberger. He was raised in Fargo until he was 17, when he moved to San Francisco, CA, and graduated from Galileo High School.

Richard joined the Army and served from 1979 to 1983. He specialized in veterinary care, was a rifleman sharpshooter, and grenade marksman. After he left the Army, he used his veterinary skills by becoming an Animal Control Officer. He then moved into security with Pinkerton until he found his lifelong career managing a high-rise condo on Franklin Street in San Francisco. Richard always went above and beyond and took great pride in the relationships he built with his staff, residents and their guests, board members, and the many vendors who serviced the building.

He was an avid sports fan, and you could talk to him endlessly about baseball, boxing, and football. His ability to remember dates was uncanny. It always amazed his friends and family how he could throw out sports stats and dates. He enjoyed coin and stamp collecting and took special care of his collections. Richard also loved the theater and had season tickets for many years to the Orpheum Theater in San Francisco. Whenever family members went to visit, you were in for a special treat and would get taken to an amazing show. He was a very generous person and lived by “If you treat me well, I will treat you well.” Also, an avid storyteller, we all have our Richard stories that are very dear to us.

Richard moved back to Fargo in the summer of 2022 due to health issues and to be surrounded by his family. We cherish the last year and a half we were able to spend with him. We made amazing memories, including bonfires, dinners out, and ball games. He will be very dearly missed.

Remembering Richard lovingly are his sister, Georgie Mechtel and her children, Mindy (Wylie) Wetzel and Melissa (Cory) Rogne; brother, Joe (Shirley) Eichelberger and his children, Joe Eichelberger and Jodi Hinton; sister, Lynne (Basant) Dhaliwal; great nephews and nieces, Jos, Jake, Katharine, Margaret, Xavier, Vania, Max, and Ilsa; and many lifelong friends.

Preceding him in death are his parents, George and Evylin Eichelberger; brother, Stephen Eichelberger; brother-in-law, Marvin Mechtel; nephews, Matthew Mechtel and John Olmstead.

A special thank you to the caregivers at Sanford, including the nurses in the Dialysis Unit, ICU nurses, most notably Mary, who treated him with the utmost dignity and care, and ICU Dr Khan.

A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, June 22, starting with an interment at Riverside Cemetery Veterans Unit at 11 am, followed by a gathering at Lindenwood Park.

If you wish to honor Richard, memorials to the National Kidney Foundation or the American Heart Association are preferred.