Richard Allen “Dick” Ehrhart
Richard Allen “Dick” Ehrhart, age 90, of Quincy, went to eternal rest on Friday, December 27, 2013. He was a loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, and friend, and will be dearly missed. Dick was born on June 6th, 1923, in Quincy to Matthew J. and Agatha (Kohl) Ehrhart. He attended St. Francis Grade School, Quincy College Academy, Notre Dame High School and Quincy College. Dick was in the Navy, trained as a fighter pilot from 1943-1945, but WWII ended before he was deployed to combat. On June 12, 1948 he and Betty Middendorf were married, a union of 55 years. Betty preceded him in death in 2003. In July of 2005, Dick married Agnes Brennan. She brought love, joy and happiness to his later life and she survives.
Dick’s great-grandfather, Nikolaus Kohl, began N. Kohl Grocer Co. in 1873. At the age of thirteen, Dick began working at the family business. His love of the business and his work ethic has created a successful company, now known as Kohl Wholesale. Dick attributed much of the success to the contributions of office staff, sales representatives, warehouse personnel, and truck drivers. Dick advanced from duties as truck driver, shipping dock manager, sales representative and General Manager to that of President. Dick’s personal charm and customer relationships were keys to his career. He enjoyed the purchasing aspects of the business, particularly canned and frozen fruits and vegetables and commodities.
Dick witnessed tremendous changes in the business over 77 years, from handwritten invoices to employing modern technology. He was humble regarding his excellent example of customer service, which influenced his children and employees. He gained deep satisfaction from providing supplies and services to customers and creating solid jobs. His wife, Betty was a source of support and worked with Dick. Their three sons continue the family legacy and his daughter was also involved for many years. Dick continued working until October of this year.
He was very grateful for the blessings he received in his family and work life and pleased to impart the love of the business to his children and grandchildren. The 140th anniversary of the company was celebrated this year. Two employee recognition programs exist in Dick’s honor.
Dick and Betty were wonderful parents. Their children have cherished memories of excursions to the Lake of the Ozarks and motor home travels throughout the West. He was an avid golfer, sharing many laughs with his beloved golf buddies. His hobbies were boating and bowling. Dick and his wife Agnes, enjoyed travel, especially their honeymoon trip to Vatican City. Dick was a proud grandfather, attending many of the sports, school, or cultural events of his grandchildren. He was a previous member of St. Francis Catholic Church and Spring Lake Country Club. At the time of his passing, he was a member of the Church of St. Peter, Quincy Country Club, the Elks, and the Knights of Columbus.
In addition to his wife, Dick is survived by his son Richard M. Ehrhart and his wife Laura, their children Clara, Gates and Richard W. “Trey”; son Mark J. Ehrhart and his wife Gail, their children Marcus and Nicole “Violet”; daughter Janice M. Ehrhart, R.N., of Boise, ID; and son Matthew S. Ehrhart and his wife Kandi, and their daughter Jamie. He is also survived by his step-son Mike Brennan and his wife Carol; a step-daughter Patti Calvert and her husband Gene of Macomb, IL; his brother Matthew N. Ehrhart and his wife Marg of Dana Point, CA; his sister Jean Arp; sister-in-law Marge Burns of Alburquerque, NM; brother-in-law Ted Middendorf, Jr. and his wife Joyce of Overland Park, KS. Numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and other relatives also survive.
Dick was preceded in death by his first wife, Betty, his parents and a sister Katie Ehrhart.
The family would like to express deep gratitude to the physicians and all caregivers who provided quality, compassionate care during his valiant fight against cancer, especially Dr. Raymond Smith, Dr. Randall Dooley, the staff of Good Samaritan Home and the staff of First Choice Physical Therapy.
Funeral services will be held on Saturday, January 4, 2014 at 9:30 AM in the Duker & Haugh Funeral Home and at 10:00 AM in the Church of St. Peter. Interment in Calvary Cemetery. Visitation will be held on Friday evening from 4:00 until 7:00 PM at the Duker & Haugh Funeral Home. Memorials may be made to Quincy Notre Dame High School, the Church of St. Peter, Good Samaritan Home or to the Blessing Cancer Center Infusion Room in care of the Blessing Foundation.
On behalf of General Mills , we would like to extend deep and heart felt sympathy to the Ehrhart family.
My condolences to the Ehrhart Family. I met Mr Ehrhart for the first time at one of your shows and I will not forget how he made me feel very welcome. Great guy!
My sincere prayers go out to the entire Kohl family. Although I didn’t know Mr. Ehrhart personally, I’ve worked with a few other individuals at Kohl’s and have always been received with respect which comes from a 1st class leader. His legacy will continue. In my prayers.. J
Ehrhart Family: Please accept the prayers and condolences from the entire Bickhaus family. It is truly a joy knowing each of you. We know how difficult it can be to lose the patriarch of your family. Remember all of the good times with him, and look forward to many more with him in the afterlife. Best Regards,
Mark, Matt, and family, please accept my sincerest condolences on your loss. I have many good memories of Dick.
Thoughts and prayers for the Ehrhart family, so very sorry for your loss.
On behalf of Lakeside Foods, our sympathy and prayers to the Ehrhart family. Dick, was a great person to work with and will be solely missed. God bless him!
I am sorry for your loss, our thoughts and prayers are with the Ehrhart Family.
I sure will miss you, Uncle “Dicker”…you were always so kind to me and my family. Prayers to the Ehrhart family and all the Middendorfs who will be missing him.
Your nieces will miss you very much, Uncle “Dicker”. You were a delightful uncle. Our sympathy goes to your family.
Mimi, Mary and Susie
On behalf of the Tulkoff team, I would like to express our deep sympathy and wish you much joy in reviewing fond memories of Dick.
On behalf of PepsiCo, I would like to extend my condolences to the family and employees at Kohl. Dick was a great man and I always enjoyed seeing and talking with him. It is never easy to lose someone we love no matter how long they have been with us. Cherish the stories and memories and please know what an amazing family he has and that he will be deeply missed. God Bless.
My thoughts and prayers are with the family at this time. Mr. Ehrhart was a member of our greatest generation and was a big part of this community. It was a pleasure to have known him.
On behalf of the Broaster Company, we would like to extend deep and heart felt sympathy to the Ehrhart family.
We all mourn the passing of a great Quincy native that had and will continue to have an incredibly positive impact on this community and many others through the ongoing efforts of his sons at Kohl Wholesale. My heartfelt condolences to the entire family.
Deepest sympathies for your families loss. May Dick rest in God’s Peace.
My thoughts and prayers go out to all family members. I enjoyed working with Dick and negotiating with him on the phone. Mr. Ehrhart was an inspiration to me as I am a senior member of the food business, I hope to confinue a few more years.
On behalf of McCain Foods, I would like to express our deepest condolences. It’s always evident when working with the entire Kohl Wholesale family that Mr. Ehrhart’s core values are always in place and will be present for many more years to come.
To Mark, Matt, Janice and Rick,
On behalf of my family and RTD, I wish to offer my sympathy for your loss. I remember several Christmas’ ago helping your dad load a Christmas tree in his car and what a really nice gentlemen he was. His legacy lives on with all of you and your Kohl family
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the entire Ehrhart Family. Thinking of you all. Dick was a wonderful man with an incredible life story. He will be missed. Take care.
For the few years that Kohl’s was with UniPro, I enjoyed working and meeting with Dick.
I was always impressed in his knowledge and his sense of fairness. He will be greatly missed.
To the Ehrhart Family, On behalf of the Jones Dairy Family please accept our deepest condolences. We have enjoyed working with the Ehrhart family and Mr. Ehrhart will be greatly missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with you. May God bless you all.
We here at Aqua Star would like to send our deepest sympathy to the Ehrhart family as well as the Kohl’s Wholesale family on the passing of their patriarch, Dick. While he surely will be missed, I’m sure his legacy will live on.
It is always difficult to loose someone who you hold in the highest regards. Dicks standard of high quality leadership will truly be missed on a personal level as well as in the business he truly loved. On behalf of the staff here at Certified Hereford Beef we offer our true condolence to Dick’s family and friends.
We wish to express our deepest sympathy to the entire Ehrhart family and Kohl Wholesale organization.
We would like to extend our condolences to the family. We remember Dick, Betty and the family as fun and interesting to be around in years past. Our best, James & Nancy
Our thoughts and prayers are with you, we know Dick will be sorely missed by all who knew and loved him.