BOLIVAR (WJER) - A longtime community leader around the Zoar and Bolivar area has passed away.

Dick Lebold died Saturday at the age of 76. He previously owned the Lebold-Smith Funeral Home and helped start the Bolivar Strawberry Festival and Main Street Association. Mayor Rebecca Hubble says Lebold also served on numerous committees within the village.

“He actually was very, very important in getting the Towpath Trail through the Village of Bolivar. Originally, the plans were a little different bit different. Even though the canalway went through Bolivar, it changed so he was very important in that aspect of it too,” she says.

Lebold resigned from Bolivar council this month due to his declining health. Hubble says she’s thankful she had the opportunity to get to know him.

“Dick will be sorely missed. He was a great friend to me when I first came to the village. He was probably one of the first people that greeted me, and he did that for lots of people. He will be missed and I know that he’s in a better place,” she says.

Hubble says village hall is now accepting letters of intent from anyone wanting to serve the remainder of Lebold’s term on council, through the end of 2021. She hopes to start conducting interviews later in the week. 

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