Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce has expressed condolences following the death of Dick Henggeler, the well-known owner of The Rose Hotel in Tralee.
Mr Henggeler passed away peacefully at his home in Baltimore, USA surrounded by his Aghadoe-born wife Eibhlin (née Moriarty), their son Franz, and other family members.
Dick and Eibhlin purchased The Rose Hotel in 2015 in tribute to their late daughter Dorothy, who represented Washington DC in the 2011 Rose of Tralee Festival.
The Chamber said Mr Henggeler would be remembered for his warmth, good nature and positive approach, as well as for being a forward-thinking and knowledgeable businessman.
“He knew how to run a good hotel and that was and still is very obvious at The Rose Hotel, which is a great success story,” the Chamber said.
It added that continuity of ownership will remain in place, with Eibhlin, Franz, daughter-in-law Amber, and grandchildren Conrad and Rowan continuing to honour Dick’s legacy and vision for the hotel.
“Dick took enormous personal pride in Tralee and all of Kerry and he was always available to generously support any community initiative or endeavour undertaken in Killarney,” the Chamber said.
“He will be greatly missed by all that knew him but he leaves a wonderful legacy.”
He will repose at O’Shea’s Funeral Home, Killarney, on Friday (October 17), from 4:00pm to 6:00pm. The funeral will arrive at St Mary’s Cathedral on Saturday morning at 10:00am for Requiem Mass at 10:30am, with burial afterwards in Aghadoe Cemetery. The Requiem Mass will be live streamed at https://www.churchservices.tv/killarneycathedral.