Sadness struck the Times News coverage area in a number of ways in 2024, including the deaths of several people who were involved or were formerly involved in community service in a number of ways, including holding government positions and police posts.

The Palmerton community lost three prominent individuals, including two who had been active in civic concerns for a number of years — Peter Kern and George H. Duell Jr. — and, just recently, one who passed and left a legacy of unparalleled basketball, prominence at the high school and collegiate levels – the “Owl Without a Vowel,” Dr. Bill Mlkvy.

Legend’s passing

Mlkvy, who died Dec. 12 at the age of 93, was an all-time great whose induction in numerous Halls of Fame came following is stellar career on the courts of Palmerton High and Temple University.

He played for the Blue Bombers from 1946-48 and led them to the 1948 Lehigh Valley League Championship before moving on to Temple University where he earned First Team All American honors while playing for Josh Cody from 1948-52. He led the nation in scoring during the 1950-1951 season. On March 3, 1951, playing against Wilkes College, Bill scored 73 points, which included scoring 54 consecutive points, a record that still stands today.

His number 20 has been retired by the Temple Owls and his banner hangs in the rafters at Temple’s Liacouras Center.

Mlkvy was drafted by the Philadelphia Warriors in the first round of the 1952 NBA Draft.

Chamber president

Kern, 83, resided in Brodheadsville before his passing on Feb. 14, but not before a career of public service in Palmerton and Pleasant Valley.

He was a professional engineer licensed in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania who joined the Research Department of the New Jersey Zinc Company in 1965 and participated in major projects in the United States, Canada, Australia, Brazil, France and Germany, eventually rising to the position of senior vice president. He resigned in 1988 to become president and chief executive officer of Palmerton Hospital, a position he held until his retirement in 2000. He continued his involvement with the hospital, serving in a volunteer role for five years as president of the Palmerton Hospital Foundation.

In addition to his professional career, he was actively involved in community activities. He was elected to two terms as a director of the Pleasant Valley School District and served two years as board president; later served 10 years as the president of the Pleasant Valley School District Foundation; he was elected to the board of trustees of the Hospital and Health Systems Association of Pennsylvania and served as a director of the American Lung Association of the Lehigh Valley; and, among other community endeavors, he was a founding board member of the Carbon County Chamber of Commerce and the Horsehead Community Development Fund.

Decorated serviceman

Duell, a highly decorated U.S. Army veteran, passed away on May 20 at the age of 87.

Before his military career ended, he rose to the rank of colonel, and later continued serving our country as a U.S. Army Reserve Ambassador. In 2018, he received the Public Service Commendation Medal, the fourth highest public service decoration the U.S. Department of the Army can bestow upon a civilian, from Maj. Gen. Troy D. Kok, commanding general of the U.S. Army Reserve’s 99th Readiness Division, during a ceremony on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurt, New Jersey.

While playing many major roles within the Palmerton United Veterans Organization, Duell handled his ambassador role, helping to promote awareness of the Army Reserve, its goals and objectives.

An educator, he retired in 1993 as principal of the Palmerton Area High School.

Mayor, ex-mayor pass

In Lehighton, Mayor Clark A. Ritter passed on Oct. 23 away while serving the community. He was 78.

He was in his second term in office, holding the borough’s top position for the past seven years.

Professionally, Ritter served in the Pennsylvania State Police until his retirement. He was deeply rooted in the Lehighton community, having served on the Lehighton Sesquicentennial Planning Committee, Masonic Lodge 621, Rajah Shriners, and was a member of Zion United Church of Christ, Lehighton.

Residents of the Borough of Slatington grieved the loss of former mayor and then-current councilman Walter Niedermeyer. He died on May 24 and was 81.

Niedermeyer was the community’s mayor from 2001-2021 and a sitting council at the time of his passing.

He also contributed to the community with his volunteer work with Slatington Borough Lions Club, Northern Lehigh Chamber of Commerce, and Venture Group effort.

Losses for police fraternity

Former Tamaqua police Chief George B. Woodward passed away on May 7 at the age of 76.

He spent 32 years as a Tamaqua police officer, rising through the ranks to become a criminal investigator, and then the department’s chief in 1999. After retirement several years later, he worked for police departments in Walker and Schuylkill townships.

Also Tamaqua-related, the area community mourned the death of Pennsylvania State Trooper Peter K. Conforti on July 31. He unexpectedly died of cardiac arrest at just 30 years of age.

Conforti enlisted in the state police in April of 2016 and was assigned to Troop L, Hamburg, at the time of his passing.

Former fire chief

Former Slatedale Fire Chief Blaine W. Horn got the Final Call Home on Sept. 11. He died Sept. 11 and was 75.

Horn served in the Army in the Vietnam War era, was stationed in Anchorage, Alaska, where he learned all about firefighting and the trade of fire extinguishers. When he came home he began to work for Kistler, a fire protection company. He took over as chief of the Slatedale Fire Company in 1971 and remained in office for 40 years.

He became a forest fire warden in 1975 and assistant state police fire marshal in 1976. Horn then went out on his own and started B.W. Horn Fire Protection in 1979.

Other notable deaths

• Joseph G. Bechtel, a longtime business and civic leader in Slatington, died on May 2. He was 88.

Bechtel started his career as a pharmacist at Teter’s Pharmacy in Palmerton. In 1961, he moved with his wife and family to Slatington and took over Moyer’s Drugstore in Slatington.

He opened a larger pharmacy in 1971 just a few doors down from Moyer’s under his own name, Bechtel’s Pharmacy.

He also served in key roles managing Northern Lehigh Bancorp and its subsidiary Citizens National Bank of Slatington until the bank merged with Harleysville National Bank in 2004.

• Jeff Mattox, 65, the owner and projectionist of the Mahoning Valley Drive-In, passed away on April 13.

Mattox first learned the art of 35 mm film projection in the Air Force and came to Mahoning in 2001, taking over as its manager in 2014.

• Samuel Alonge, 71, of Tamaqua, best known for his affiliation with “The Mudflaps,” passed away on April 15. He was 71.

Alonge also performed in popular duo, “It Takes Two.” During his entertaining career, he was a frequent contributor to the annual telethon of the American Cancer Society, Carbon-Tamaqua Unit.

• Edith Roeder, whose legacy may best be defined as an artist and a teacher, died on April 16 at 103 years old.

Roeder was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the fourth annual Art with a View fundraiser held at Blue Mountain Resort in Palmerton.

A Palmerton resident for more than 40 years, she took up painting to “share her pleasure” with those around her when she retired from teaching English at Northern Lehigh School District.

• Dr. John H. Nicholson, who practiced medicine for 41 years in Palmerton, died on Jan. 18. He was 82.

Nicholson served in the U.S. Army National Guard and graduated from LaSalle University and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.

• Lehighton businessman Salvatore Caruso died on April 6 in Palermo, Italy.

He was the founding father of Pizza Como, USA, in the Carbon Plaza Mall, a popular business that has flourished in Lehighton for over half-a-century.

• Henry Long Sr., a popular Lehighton musician, passed away on July 7. He was 89.

Long was most well-known for his participation in the Perseverance Dixie Land Band which performed for so many folks over the years. A proud veteran serving for 24 years in the Pa. Army National Guard, he was a member of the Lehighton Band for many years.

• Margaret L. “Maggie” Dugan, 80, of Jim Thorpe, passed away on Dec. 15.

She and her late husband, Hugh Dugan, established the well-known Hugh D. Dugan Real Estate in the county.

Margaret Dugan was twice elected as the president of the Carbon County Realtors Association.