Obituary of Richard Joseph Pietlicki
Richard J. Pietlicki (73) resident of Fernwood, ID passed away on December 15, 2023. He was born to Joseph and Janina (Lysiuk) Pietlicki on February 12, 1950 in Hereford City, England. At the age of 2, Rick’s family took the steam ship Moratoria to the United States landing in New York. His family moved to Brooklyn; however, they quickly decided they did not want to live in the city, so they moved to New Hampshire. Rick attended high school in Manchester and graduated in 1968. He was a talented football player and earned a scholarship to play football for the University of Maine. He spent 2 years at college.
Rick’s father died, and he enlisted into the U.S. Navy in 1974 spending a few years on nuclear submarines. When he was honorably discharged, after much soul searching, he enrolled at the Bible Speaks Church in Lenox, MA obtaining an AA degree and Ordination. He went on to teach the bible. He preached at Winston Salem, SC. He married and had 6 children; the marriage later ended in divorce. Rick traveled all over the U.S. sharing the bible. He found himself in Texas where he worked construction and conducted his ministry. He moved to California to attend the Calvery Chapel to study under Chuck Smith. The area of California he was in became too dangerous to live in, so a friend of Rick’s talked him into moving to Coeur d’ Alene, ID and offered him a job in his cabinet shop, so he relocated to North Idaho. As fate would have it, Rick met Cara Winter at a bible study group in Coeur d’ Alene. The couple built their relationship off of a sturdy friendship first. They married on September 19, 2015, at the Memorial Church near Kendrick, ID, and made their home in Fernwood, ID.
With Cara by his side, Rick started pastoring at the Emida Community Bible church. He had also served as a Chaplain for Valley Vista Care Center. Rick wrote a couple books on end times and was very proud of them. He started a third book but was unable to complete it before his death. Rick loved spending time with his grandchildren and fishing. He also enjoyed biking, tennis shooting, hunting, watching football, and traveling. Before he became ill, Rick and Cara were able to travel to Europe, Israel, Rome, and Venice. Venice was by far the couple’s favorite place to see, as it was very romantic, and they had a lot of fun making memories.
Rick is survived by his wife Cara at their home in Fernwood; children Hillary Stephens of Phoenix AZ, Katie (John) Sanborn of Spirit Lake, ID, Abigail (James) Pool of Post Falls, ID, Nathan Pietlicki of Coeur d’ Alene, ID, Jonathan (Chrystin) Pietlicki of Newport, OR, Caleb (Alissa) Pietlicki of Coeur d’ Alene, ID, Dillon Stringfield of Bend, OR, Emily (Nick) Taylor) of Boise, ID, and Briana Stringfield of Boise, ID; sister Basia (Bill) Craver of Henniker, NH; brother John (Beverly Ann) Pietlicki of Barrington, NH; 16 grandchildren; numerous nieces and nephews.
A Memorial Service with military honors presented will be on December 30, 2023, at 1:00 pm at the Emida Community Center.
