Doylestown Raises A Candle To Bartender's Memory

DOYLESTOWN—Friends and family gathered on the street in front of Finney’s Pub Monday night to remember Richard “Richie” Wylie, who had tended bar there for the past 39 years.

Wylie died tragically in an accident on Friday, leaving his friends and family stunned and heartbroken. He will be laid to rest this week at the Doylestown Cemetery.

“You can see the impact he had on this community by the turnout at this event,” a friend told the gathering. “Some of us worked with Richie. Some of us were just the patrons he had a good time with. We loved that guy just as much as he loved us.

“Richie Wylie was a true legend in the Doylestown community,” he continued. “An establishment like Finney’s was lucky to have a person like him here for such a long time. When you worked in the industry with Rich you got to know that he cared about every person who was behind the bar, every person in the kitchen. It didn’t matter if you served alcohol or not he had a place for you in his heart.”

Music filled the air as the gathering lifted their candles high in a symbolic last toast to Wylie, who is described by long time friend and State Rep. Todd Polinchock as being “larger than life, rough around the edges, but a heart of gold.

“For years, he had me anonymously donate sports jerseys to organizations from A Woman’s Place to Bucks County shelters,” wrote Polinchock in a social media post. “The only guy I knew who lived, worked and even golfed in sandals. I will deeply miss you my friend. We will raise a glass of your beloved brown water in your honor. RIP and Godspeed.”

Finney’s owner, Richard “Little Rich” Lunoe, who has worked with “Big Rich” for the past 30 years, called Richie “the face of Finney’s. He was the one out front leading the charge.

“He’s going to be missed terribly here. It’s going to really tough. It’s going to be a big void to try and fill,” he said.“He had a very big, large personality. And he would tell you how it is,” said Lunoe, who was hired by Richie when he was 21.

“He was the father figure,” added Lunoe. “People would come in, meet, get married and now their kids are coming in now. He knew pretty much everyone by name and what they drank,” said he said.

“A lot of people came to him with problems,” continued Lunoe. “He was great at solving problems. He would scour the computer. He knew everyone. He had connections. If he needed something he would find it.”

Behind the scenes, Big Rich was extremely generous with a lot of people and organizations, said Lunoe. “He was always giving something to somebody to help them out, but he never wanted any acknowledgment for it.”

He was also known for his shirts. And he had one for every holiday. “For the 12 Days of Christmas he had a different shirt every day. Easter, Memorial Day and the Fourth of July for that whole week. Big, giant very loud bright shirts,” Lunoe laughed. “And for Halloween he loved
dressing up as Beetlejuice or Willy Wonka. He loved Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”

He also loved to golf. “He started a golf league that he’s been running for 20 some years,” said Lunoe. “Every Sunday, starting around Easter time until it gets too cold to golf he’d call the courses and get tee-times. He’d work here Saturday night until 3 a.m. and he’d be up and
at the course by 8 a.m.”

Lunoe laughed when asked if Richie ever owned the bar.

The short answer is no, but Lunoe said “everybody always thought he owned the place, which was fine by me because I could hide in the background.”

Since getting the news, Lunoe said there’s been a lot support from the community and a lot of sadness at the bar.

“This is the first day that we’ve been open. We took Friday and Saturday just to let things settle in. We’re going to take it slow for the next week or so. People have been dropping by flowers and little tributes to him, which is really nice.

“He was one of the hardest working, most dedicated person I have ever known,” said Lunoe. “I’ve seen and talked to him every day for the last 30 years. He was my brother. He’s going to be missed. There’s going to be a lot of tears shed over the next few weeks.”