(June 26, 1933--July 11, 1978)

NORWOOD--Funeral services for New York State Trooper Richard M. Relyea, 45, of 32 Baldwin Ave., Norwood were held at 11 a.m. Friday , July 14, 1978 at St. Andrew's Church, Norwood, with the Rev. John Wiley officiating. Burial was in Visitation Cemetery, Norfolk.

 Trooper Relyea was killed instantly Monday (July 11, 1978) when he was struck by a lighting bolt as he and other Army reservists were undergoing field training near Indiantown Gap, Pa.

 Mr. Relyea was a member of the 479th Engineering Battalion which was on maneuvers when the storm struck.

 Mr. Relyea was assigned to the Massena Army Reserve Unit, Company B.

 Funeral arrangments were with the Buck Funeral Home, Norwood.

 Surviving are his wife, Cherry; three daughters, Mary, 18, Carolyn, 15, Ann Marie, 6; a son, Richard, 2; his father, Martin Relyea and his stepmother, Mildred Relyea of Norwood; and a sister, Mrs. Martha Cutler of Binghamton. His mother, Anna Creighton Relyea, predeceased him.

 Mr. Relyea was born in Potsdam, June 26, 1933, the son of Martin and Anna Creighton Relyea.

 He was graduated from Norwood-Norfolk Central School in 1950. He joined the Air Force in 1952 and was stationed in Cheyenne, Wyo.; Misawa, Japan, and Washington, D.C.

 He was married to Cherry Matthie November of 1956.

 A veteran of the Korean conflict, Mr. Relyea was commander of the Norwood American Legion and a member of the Seaway Valley Coin Club, Ogdensburg; the Norwood Knights of Columbus, and St. Andrew's Church, Norwood.

 He was a 20-year veteran of the New York State Police and had been stationed at the Canton State Police Station for the past several years.

(SLCHA Scrapbook; Newspaper Unknown)