Joseph Alfred Ricker Sr. Of Sag Harbor Dies November 21

Joseph Alfred Ricker Sr., of New Smyrna Beach, Florida, and formerly of Sag Harbor, died on November 21. He was 88.

He was born February 22, 1932 in Biddeford, Maine, the son of Eugene Ricker and Marie Ann (Lambert) Ricker, both of Biddeford.

Eugene Ricker, at the time, was the youngest fire chief in the state of Maine. That career would have the family moving from Biddeford, to Saco, Maine, Portland, New Hampshire, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. In 1949, the family would move one final time, as Eugene Ricker took up his post as fire chief of the Naval Air Station Pensacola, a post he would hold until his retirement in 1968.

Mr. Ricker joined the U.S. Navy on February 20, 1951, serving his first six months at the NAS Pensacola, where his father was fire chief. Tours of duty would take Mr. Ricker overseas to the Philippines and then South Korea, where he earned the nickname, “Pusan Joe.” He also served for a time aboard the USS Aludra, a cargo ship. He always spoke of having access to the best food available aboard the Aludra, his family said. Mr. Ricker was extremely proud of his service during the Korean War and was a member of the Korean War Veterans chapter on the East End of Long Island, as well as a member of the Chelburg Battle Post, Chapter 388 American Legion, in Sag Harbor.

Desiring more of the military life, Mr. Ricker enlisted as Airman Second Class in the U.S. Air Force on July 10, 1957. This enlistment would eventually lead him into the start of his very long radio broadcast career. Mr. Ricker loved his new career as a broadcaster and was joined by his best friend, David Hunter (deceased) and Jamie Farr (Klinger), of “M.A.S.H.” fame. They were in Misawa, Japan, when Mr. Ricker spied his “future” wife, Esther Rodriquez, in the Base Exchange, shopping with some other newly arrived teachers from the United States. It was love at first sight for Mr. Ricker, and he and his wife shared 61 years together.

Leaving active duty in May 1961, the couple returned to the United States to begin married life together on August 19, 1961 in Pensacola, Florida. They would welcome a son, Joseph A. Ricker Jr. on June 19, 1962, and a daughter, Dina L. Ricker, on May 27, 1965.

Mr. Ricker’s career took him north from Pensacola, to Norfolk, Virginia, where he worked for a time as a broadcaster, alongside Ted Cassidy, of the original Adams Family TV show fame. Mr. Ricker always said what a gentle giant Mr. Cassidy was.

A move to Long Island came in 1963. It was that year that Mr. Ricker became the morning voice of WLNG, earning the beloved title of “The Morning Mayor” of the airwaves. The young Ricker family bought the home they would live in at 127 Jermain Avenue, and welcomed their daughter Dina home there in 1965. The family would remain in their Sag Harbor home until they sold it in July 2018 and retired to the warmer climate of New Smyrna Beach, Florida.

During his 50-plus years in Sag Harbor, Mr. Ricker made many good friends and was beloved by all, his family said. He had a very funny personality that not everyone got to see, they said, noting that he was warm, kind, intelligent, and a “fair man,” as John Steinbeck once told him during a call he made to WLNG to thank Mr. Ricker for his unbiased reporting of local elections.

There were quite a few marathon fundraisers walked by Mr. Ricker from Sag Harbor to Montauk, to raise money for those in need. The WLNG bus always followed Mr. Ricker’s route, doing a live broadcast to keep people motivated to donate to these charitable causes. Mr. Ricker loved that he could do this for others, and it was something he spoke about until his final days, his family said.

Favorite pastimes of Mr. Ricker’s were listening to country music for hours, watching Westerns, and reading military books. He had a deep interest in the Civil War, proud to claim relation to Major General Joseph Hooker of the Union Army, who also led the Army of the Pattomac for Abraham Lincoln. Movies varied, but Mr. Ricker’s absolute favorite Western was “The Searchers” with John Wayne. He also enjoyed “Monty Python and The Holy Grail,” “Young Frankenstein” and “Waking Ned Devine.”

Mr. Ricker’s 50 plus years of sobriety made him proud that he had gotten a handle on his drinking all those years ago, his family said. He was, back in the early 1960s, Dan Rather’s competition at NBC when they were both up and coming, yet Mr. Ricker’s drinking and his destiny would place him firmly in Sag Harbor.

Though many things piqued Mr. Ricker’s varied interests, his family said, the one thing that topped them all were his beloved “Pumpkins,” his reference for his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Mr. Ricker is survived by his wife Esther (Rodriguez) Ricker; his son Joseph A. Ricker Jr. and wife Dana Ricker; his grandson Joseph A. Ricker III; his granddaughter Nicole J. Trombetta of Edgewater, Florida; his daughter Dina L. Ricker of Mt. Shasta, California; his granddaughter Shelby Tikkanen-Ericksen and husband Daniel Ericksen of Redding, California; and his granddaughter Erin Tikkanen and Trever Newlon of Dunsmuir, California. He is also survived by his great-grandchildren Pasquale Zaccaglini, Raegan Zaccaglini and Bennett W. Newlon. Mr. Ricker also leaves behind his caregiver, Mary Blackwell of Deltona, Florida, whom, his family said, he thought of like a daughter.

In lieu of flowers, donations to the Sag Harbor Community Food Pantry (sagharborfoodpantry.org) or the Korean War Veterans East End Chapter of Long Island (kwva.org) would be appreciated by the family.