Richard Lee Pocher, known to family and friends as Rich, passed away peacefully surrounded by those who loved him. Born May 12, 1967, he was 59 years old.
Rich was raised in Stanton, New Jersey, where he attended Clinton Township Elementary School and graduated from North Hunterdon High School in 1985. He earned a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management from Penn State University in 1990, where he joined Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity and formed lifelong friendships, including with his oldest and dearest friend and fraternity brother, Santos Guzman.
Rich was the beloved son of the late Charles and Bobbi Pocher, most recently of Brick, New Jersey. He is survived by his son, Quintin Pocher of Boston, Massachusetts, and Quintin’s fiancée, Molly Duffy; his siblings, Marybeth MacNaughton, Paula Pocher and her husband, Roger Miller, and Chuck Pocher and his wife, Peggy Pocher; and his loving nephews, Chad Pocher, Kyle Pocher, Zachary Pocher, Colin MacNaughton and Lee MacNaughton. His godchildren, Chad Pocher, Lauren Robinson, and Lee MacNaughton, held a special place in his heart.
Rich eventually made his home in North Carolina, where he owned and operated Countryside Cafe. He later worked as a contractor for many years before joining “In His Name Catholic Store” in Raleigh.
Faith was at the center of Rich’s life. A daily Mass attendee at St. Eugene Catholic Church, he was deeply loved by his parish community. Rich was always willing to help, often quietly working behind the scenes with Christmas tree setup, pancake breakfasts, youth ministry, as a fill-in Sacristan, and even providing rides and deliveries. He was a familiar presence in the Sunday children’s church procession and an Easter Bunny extraordinaire. His favorite prayer, the Litany of Humility, reflected the way he lived—always putting others first.
Rich found joy in the simple things. He loved the Grateful Dead and tie-dye, WWF wrestling, ME tv classic television, Cooper cheese, ribs, kielbasa and his sister Paula’s famous chocolate chip cookies. He was also a devoted walking buddy to Sophie the schnauzer. And while he embraced many things in life, technology was not one of them.
Rich had a warm heart, a wonderful sense of humor, and a gift for making friends wherever he went. He was genuine, generous, and always ready to help. He will be deeply missed by his son, family, friends, church community, and all who had the privilege of knowing him.
Rich was loved by all and loved all. If you didn’t know Rich, you were simply a friend he hadn’t met yet.
In lieu of flowers memorials are requested to St. Eugene Catholic Church, Wendell, NC.
A mass of resurrection will be offered 11 am, Saturday, October 3, 2026, St. Eugne Catholic Church, 608 Lions Club Rd., Wendell, NC.
Interment will be held on Thursday, October 15, 2026, at 11:30 am at Immaculate Conception Parish Mausoleum, 316 Old Allerton Rd., Annandale, NJ, 08801. For those wishing to send flowers to the family, please note no flowers are allowed in the Mausoleum.
Arrangements are entrusted to Strickland Funeral Home & Crematory, 211 West Third Street, Wendell, NC 27591. www.stricklandfuneral.com
EULOGY FOR RICHARD
Rich Pocher Eulogy
Good morning, everyone.
I’ll keep this brief.
I only know 25 letters of the alphabet…
I don’t know Y.
Rich started every single workday at In His Name by sharing a Dad joke, so I thought it was only fitting to pick up where he left off.
It’s hard for me to believe that I first met Rich nearly 50 years ago.
Rich was the youngest of four children raised by Bobbi and Charles Pocher.
I already knew his sister Marybeth, his brother Chuck, and—of course—my beautiful bride, his sister Paula, since we all went to high school together.
Rich Pocher was my brother in the truest sense of the word. But he wasn’t just my brother; he was my friend. And if you’re here today, it’s because you met Rich, and he became your friend, too.
After graduating high school in 1985, Rich continued doing what he did best—making lifelong friends. One in particular, Santos Guzman, became his best friend and, like me, another true brother to Rich. They met through their fraternity at Penn State in 1986, forging a bond of brotherhood that has easily withstood the test of time and remains just as strong today.
After earning his degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management, Rich convinced his mom and dad that the absolute best way, to put that Penn State degree to use, was for them to continue supporting him financially—not by finding a local cooking internship in New Jersey, but by flying him across the country and clear across the Pacific Ocean to the Big Island of Hawaii.
Hawaii is where he began honing his culinary skills—a fact many parishioners here at St. Eugene can attest to, thanks to those famous, delicious pancakes he made for church breakfasts.
Not long after, Rich married Tamra and they ultimately settled in Wendell, where he became the chef and owner of Countryside Cafe. I found myself working side-by-side with him as his self-appointed sous chef. He taught me how to prepare the menu items his way—the hard way, but the right way.
That teamwork allowed him to get home and be the best dad he could possibly be to his new son, Quin.
Even Rich’s dad pitched in as the dishwasher, to keep the restaurant running smoothly.
As many of you know, it takes more than being a great chef to run a successful restaurant—you also need sharp business skills. You’ll recall that Rich had that degree from Penn State, but he actually developed his business skills long before college.
What you might not know is that Rich and Chuck were entrepreneurs at a very young age.
It all started in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania.
Rich’s family had a vacation home on Lake Onocop—which, by the way, is “Pocono” spelled backward.
His mom and Dad did not want the boys to waste the summer away.
I imagine the conversation went something like this:
“Charles, the boys are old enough now to be working. You need to find them a job. I don’t want them just riding their bikes around the lake all summer!
“Yes Dear”, he replied.
And so began their new venture, Speedball, at Mr. Rudy’s Mini Golf.
In Speedball, for $1, you got to throw three baseballs as fast as you could into a pitching cage while a JUGS radar gun displayed your speed. If you accurately guessed the speed of your last pitch, you won a major league baseball, painter’s cap!
Their dad became the silent investor, fronting the cash for the equipment—the radar gun, the pitching cage, and the prizes.
Every week, the boys calculated their profits, deducting rent for Mr. Rudy, paying back their dad for the equipment, and keeping the rest.
Soon, the business outgrew Mr. Rudy’s Mini Golf, and they relocated to one of the premier summer destinations in the Poconos: Camelback Mountain.
For years, from early June through Labor Day, Rich and Chuck ran Speedball. And they made money—a lot of money. In fact, Rich made enough that by the time he was 17, he was driving a brand-new 1984 white Ford Mustang. I don’t remember that Mustang very well myself, and I hear it wasn’t around for very long anyway… you’ll have to ask Chuck what happened to it!
I do remember his sporty red Volkswagen GTI, though. He absolutely loved that car!
As time went on, Quin grew from a toddler into a young man Rich was extremely proud of.
Rich was the kind of father who would do anything for his son. When Quin took up skateboarding, Rich built a ginormous, full-sized half-pipe right in the yard. It was a true labor of love.
With the addition of a trampoline and swimming pool, Rich affectionately referred to the yard as Pocher Rama Land.
The two of them traveled far and wide together:
visiting skate parks, taking countless trips together—cruises, scaling mountains, jet skiing on the lake…you name it. They likely did it.
Make no mistake: Rich was a strict dad,
yet father and son were absolute best buddies.
Quin has followed a similar path his father forged years before. He is now a chef and recently opened Dahlia in Boston, a restaurant reviewed by The New York Times.
Like father, like son?
You decide.
Rich was such a remarkable father figure that he was chosen to be godfather to three children:
his godson Chad Pocher, his godchild Lee MacNaughton, and his goddaughter Lauren Robinson, daughter of his dear friend and neighbor Laurie.
In recent years, Rich reconnected with Margarite Gibbons—the very first person he met when he moved to Wendell over 35 years ago—by joining the team at In His Name Catholic Store.
To no one’s surprise, Rich quickly became an invaluable part of the shop. Margarite trusted him with opening the store every morning and handed him immense responsibility.
Just as Margarite knew the size of Rich’s heart, many parishioners here at St. Eugene knew his deep devotion to his faith and church community.
Over the years, Rich donated countless hours of volunteer work: landscaping, serving as Sacristan, working with Youth Ministries, and annually filling over 3,000 plastic eggs for the parish Easter egg hunt. 3,000 eggs.
That, is a lot, of plastic eggs!
Just yesterday, I met several parishioners who regularly attended Daily Mass with Rich. They told me he was always the anchor at the very end of the Communion line.
The last one.
What’s that saying?
The last shall be first…
Rich was truly the most faith-filled, devout Catholic man I have ever known. He taught me so much about our faith, and I will always treasure those moments together. Always.
He loved going to daily Mass because he said weekday homilies were short, sweet, and straight to the point. No disrespect, Father Freddy.
So, in honor of his favorite kind of sermon… I’m going to wrap this up right now.
Rich knew I’m a lifelong Mets fan, and he once shared this with me:
Did you know God loves baseball?
It’s true.
It says so in the very first sentence of the Bible:
“In the Big Inning…”
Love you, brother.
Roger Miller
10/3/2026
1 Comment
Another North Hunterdon High School Classmate gone way too soon. 😟 So many fond Memories of a Kid ALWAYS with a BIG SMILE on his face and a Friendly Presence wherever He went. Sending Love and Prayers to All of Rich’s Family and Friends. May You Rest In Peace Until We Meet Again. Godspeed, my Friend. 💕💕💕💕
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