Richard C. Eby, Former Lakeland Administrator, Dies at 85

From the Yorktown Funeral Home: 

Richard C. Eby, ‘Dick’, resident of Cortlandt Manor, former administrator in the Lakeland Central School District and beloved husband, father, and grandfather passed away on Friday, Nov. 1. 

Eby was born June 4, 1928 in Racine, Wisconsin and raised in Syracuse, New York. He joined the Marine Corps in 1947 and served as a communication specialist through 1950. He obtained his Bachelor's from LeMoyne College and his Master's of Science from Syracuse University where he also completed his coursework for a doctorate in education.

In 1951, Eby married Irene Price, a local North Syracuse girl and love of his life for the next 62 years. They settled in Cortlandt Manor in 1964. Eby was a teacher and administrator in school districts throughout the lower Hudson Valley, but built his professional career in the Lakeland Central School District from 1966 to 1987, retiring as Assistant Superintendent of Schools for Special Services.

A strong advocate for special education and unique student services, Eby founded and designed the Lakeland Central School District’s special education division, which went on to become a model for school districts throughout New York State. He also led the district’s effort to establish the alternative high school.

Eby spent his summers in Souris, Prince Edward Island, Canada with his wife, where he tended to his gardens, fished, and worked in his wood shop, designing elaborate jewelry boxes and furniture. He was a painter, cyclist, and all around Renaissance man who loved the outdoors, political discussions, and forever expanding his mind.  

He was a deeply kind-hearted man, with an open-mind and a willingness to embrace everyone he met.

He is survived by his wife, Irene E. (Price) Eby and daughter, Sheila Morey; five grandchildren: Justin (Elisha) and Adam Galotti, Joseph and Michael (Christina) Morey, and Sarah Galotti Hatfield (Jason); and seven great-grandchildren: Eva, Zachary, Jacob, Zoey, Joshua, Ainsley, and Ella Grace; and numerous nieces and nephews he loved like his own.

The Eby family received friends at the Yorktown Funeral Home on Monday, Nov. 4 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Funeral service is held on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 10 a.m. Interment to follow at Rose Hill Memorial Park Cemetery.