On June 9, 2024, Glenn Edward Rickert, age 96, left the field of play for the last time.  The man fondly referred to as "The Legend" by the boys and men he coached over his career passed away peacefully and quietly after many years of retirement life.  Glenn was born on April 21, 1928, in Tacoma, Washington to Edward and Katherine (Kester) Rickert.  He was soon joined by his two sisters, Nancy and Linda, and the family grew up on a small farm on Rickert Road along the banks of the Puyallup River.  He enjoyed spending time with his grandparents, who still spoke their native German.  And he enjoyed athletics.  He became an accomplished athlete at Puyallup High School, earning multiple All-Conference honors in football, basketball, and baseball, and helped lead the Puyallup Vikings to an undefeated football season in 1945.  In 2000, he was selected as one of the top high school football players in Pierce County history.

After graduation, Glenn received a football scholarship to Washington State College (WSU), where he played under legendary coaches Phil Sarboe and Forest Evashevski, as a 190-pound center and linebacker.  He was a three-year letterman and remained a life-long Cougar fan and supporter.  In later years he would help coach the Cougar alumni team against the varsity in the annual spring game. Glenn graduated from WSC in 1951 with a degree in business and a set of 2nd Lieutenant bars courtesy of ROTC.

Nine days after graduating from WSC, he married Gloria June Davis from Bellingham.  They made their first home at Fort Ord, California, where Glenn played football for the Army team and awaited orders to Korea.

On June 30, 1952, the Rickerts welcomed their first-born, Michael, and on July 1, 1952, Lt. Rickert shipped out to Korea as an infantry platoon leader.  While leading a night patrol near Heartbreak Ridge, Glenn was seriously wounded by a land mine and evacuated to a medical facility and later hospitalization in Japan.  He was awarded the Purple Heart and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

Upon discharge, he convinced his wife, Gloria, to allow him to try coaching football for a couple of years before getting a real job.  That "couple of years" turned into a 36-year career unmatched by any previous coach in Washington state history.  Glenn coached at Mead High in Spokane from 1953 to 1956, where daughter Amy joined the family.  In 1956, the family moved west so Glenn could take a job closer to family, and in 1959 son, Jon, was added.  Upon arrival at Burlington, he started a lifetime love affair with the Blue and Gold at Burlington-Edison High School.  And Burlington loved him back.  After 33 years as head football coach and athletic director, when he retired in 1989, he was the winningest coach in state history with a record of 272 wins-68 losses and 11 ties, 14 Northwest League championships and three state titles.  He was one of the first coaches to be elected to the Washington State Coaches Hall of Fame, a two-time National High School Coach of the Year, and was inducted into the Pacific Northwest Football Hall of Fame in 2012. His former ball players adored him and his family never tired of hearing "How is your dad?" hundreds of times each year from former players.  He taught his players toughness, responsibility, organization and teamwork.  They responded with outright love, respect, and a winning tradition.  He never took credit for the wins…it was always the players and the coaches who received the accolades.

Glenn retired in 1989 and enjoyed winters in Arizona with close friends and golf at the Skagit Golf & Country Club in the summer.  Glenn and Gloria enjoyed 50 years together until her death in 2001.  After Gloria's passing, Glenn met and married Margaret Fohn in 2006 and they enjoyed a number of years of cruising and travel until her passing in 2017.  He was a member of the Burlington Lutheran Church for over 65 years.  Glenn recently resided at Creekside in Burlington, where he enjoyed visiting with family and numerous old ball players and coaches.

Glenn is survived by Michael & Piper Rickert; Amy Rasar & Lowell Hanson; and Jon Rickert; grandchildren Tye (Kerry) Rickert, Joe (Julia) Rasar, Tracie (Josh) Fredlund, David (Kaylin) Rasar, Camlynn (Saxton) Shearer, Brett Rickert, and Chelsea (Jim) Herman; stepchildren Stephen Fohn, Renee Peterson, Scott Fohn, and Peter Fohn; and 12 great-grandchildren with one more on the way.  In addition to his wives, he was predeceased by his sisters, Nancy Null and Linda Robertson, and sister-in-law, Beverly Whitsell.

A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, July 2, 2024, at 1:00 p.m., at His Place Community Church in Burlington, with a reception to follow at Skagit Golf & Country Club.

Glenn would like to thank all those ballplayers who stopped by to visit, particularly Kevin Buchanan who was a true regular.  Special thanks to the kind staff at Creekside, Skagit Hospice, and Lowell Hanson.  Memorial donations may be made to the Glenn & Gloria Rickert Scholarship Fund through the Burlington-Edison Alumni Foundation, P.O. Box 350, Burlington, WA 98233.

At his retirement dinner attended by hundreds of former players and friends, he quoted Lou Gehrig: "Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth."  Looking back on his 96 years, he would say that again today.

A celebration of Glenn's life will be held Tuesday, July 2, 2024, 1:00 PM at His Place Church in Burlington, followed by a reception at the Skagit Golf and Country Club.