Don Stricker Jr., Mahwah Fire Chief Who Started Scuba Team, Dies

MAHWAH, NJ — Donald W. Stricker Jr., a 39-year member of Fire Company No. 1 and the man who started its Rescue Scuba Team, died Saturday.

Stricker Jr., 61, also got permission from the town to purchase the fire department's rescue air boat it uses for saving people on local rivers, his obituary states.

Stricker Jr. joined Company No. 1 in 1979 and held many officer positions, including chief in 2007 and 2008.

In a Facebook post Wednesday, the Fire Department said it was "saddened" to announce Stricker Jr.'s death.

Before retiring, he was an electrician and, subsequently, an electrical supervisor.

He was predeceased by his mother, Anne, in 2014.

He is survived by his wife, Kathleen; father, Donald W. Stricker Sr.; children Donald W. Stricker III and Christopher; sisters, Kathleen Farina, Mary Sterbinsky, Anne Sun, and Eileen Johnson of Mahwah; and two grandsons.

Visitation is Thursday from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. at Van Emburgh-Sneider-Pernice Funeral Home, 109 Darlington Ave. in Ramsey.

A funeral mass is Friday at 10 a.m. at Immaculate Heart of Mary R.C. Church on Island Road in Mahwah. Interment will follow at Maryrest Cemetery in Mahwah.

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com

Photo: Former Mahwah Fire Department Company No. 1 chief and 39-year member Donald W. Stricker Jr. (Mahwah Fire Department)