Waggener High School - RingBrothersHistory.com

Waggener Alumni Necrology and Family Obituaries:Roberta Gail VINCENT Rickert (60)Jon Edward RickertELIZABETHTOWN RICKERT, JON EDWARD, 73, died Monday, June 9, 2008 at his home. He wasborn on September 15, 1934, in Louisville to Harold Edward Rickert and Dorothy Groves Rickert. Hewas reared in Rome, IN, where his lifelong hobby, bird watching, began at age 10. He graduated fromUniversity High School in Bloomington, IN in 1953. He earned his undergraduate degree in businessand economics in 1958 from Indiana University where he worked as a teaching assistant in ornithologyfor three years. He was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity. From there, he moved to Nashville,TN, to attend law school at Vanderbilt University. Upon graduation in 1961, he began his 30-year careerin the general practice of law in Elizabethtown, KY. From 1968-1972, he served with distinctionin the Kentucky General Assembly, representing the 25th District. During his first term, he was votedby the news media as the most outstanding freshman legislator. While in office, he sponsored Kentucky'sfirst "truth-in-lending" law and led the fight in Frankfort and in Washington D.C. to save theRed River Gorge. He wrote the Nature Preserves Act, which established the Kentucky State NaturePreserves Commission, and he served as its chairman from 1976-1988. He acted as special advisor onEnvironmental Affairs to Kentucky Governor Julian Carroll and was a member of the Kentucky EnvironmentalQuality Commission. Jon served on the Board of Trust to the I. W. Bernheim Foundationfor 20 years. In 1973 he was a founding member of the American Birding Association and was the organization'sattorney. In 1978 he wrote and published A Guide to North American Bird Clubs. He wasa life member of The Nature Conservancy. Jon was a member of the Elizabethtown Rotary Club andacted as its president from 1979-1980. He established the EHS Baseball Foundation, Inc. and had beenan honorary scout for the St. Louis Cardinals since 1982. In 1989, Jon began a second career as an entrepreneurin the lodging business. He was appointed to the board of the Elizabethtown Tourism andConvention Bureau and served as its chairman for six years. He was also president of the KentuckyHotel Association for one term. Throughout his life, Jon traveled to Australia, Canada, China, CostaRica, France, Germany, Mexico, New Zealand, Nova Scotia, United Kingdom, and all 50 states pursuinghis birding hobby. In 2004 he was selected by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to join the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker search team in the swamps of Arkansas for a two-week expedition. Jon was amember of Memorial United Methodist Church in Elizabethtown. He leaves a legacy of good will,honesty, optimism, strength, courage, and determination. Jon is survived by his wife, Bobbie; his son,Jon E. Rickert Jr., and his wife, Ellen, of London, England, his daughter, Ann Rickert Kloeppel andher husband, David, of Nashville, TN; his daughter, Carolyn Rickert Fatheree and her husband,Shawn, of Franklin, TN; and five grandchildren, Lucy, Campbell and Tate Kloeppel and Kathryn andEmmaline Rickert. Visitation will take place 10 a.m.-noon Saturday at Memorial United MethodistChurch in Elizabethtown. A memorial service will follow at noon. On Sunday friends may offer condolencesfrom noon to 1 p.m. (CDT) at the Rickert Cemetery at German Ridge, Perry County, IN. Theburial will be private. As an expression of sympathy, the family asks that contributions be made to theKentucky State Nature Preserves Commission (KSNPC), Attn: Jon E. Rickert Memorial Fund, 801Schenkel Lane, Frankfort, KY 40601.Published in The Courier-Journal on 6/11/2008.