He never met anyone he didn’t like.

Richard Herlihy passed away last Sunday at the age of 84. The longtime Mahoning Township resident left an indelible mark upon his community from the three businesses he owned and the many storefronts he custom painted.

His daughter, Shalmar Mantz, one of five Herlihy children, reminisced about her father’s life with helping others in the community.

“He looked after everyone,” she said.

Herlihy, who served in the Army for four years, was born in Baltimore and moved to Mahoning Township with his wife, Patricia. He owned the Lehighton bus terminal and the Lehighton Bus Company along with an answering service for doctors and other local services.

“My dad retired from his businesses in 1986 and then worked for Laneco as a dairy clerk for 10 years,” said Mantz. “After that, he was a bus driver for the Carbon County Intermediate Unit.”

Herlihy, a lifelong, self-employed artist, became popular around town with his many storefront acrylic paintings. A few of the many local businesses that portrayed his murals were hardware stores and the First Street bakery. He also painted sale signs on the car windows at Bennett Ford.

“When he was a little boy, his mother would give him the white butcher paper that wrapped around the meat she bought and he would draw pictures on it,” Mantz said.

She helped him with his projects by scraping and cleaning the business windows to prepare for his painting. Herlihy was known for his seasonal murals with pumpkins in the fall and snowflakes in the winter and his Christmas wreaths. Last year, the Lehighton High School National Honor Society painted windows around town with the theme of the Twelve Days of Christmas in a tribute to him.

“He loved St. Patrick’s Day,” Mantz added. “He went out and painted the town green.”

After his wife, Patricia, died 22 years ago, Herlihy dedicated the rest of his life to helping others. He often drove widows in his taxi to the grocery store without charge.

“He looked after anyone going through a hard time,” Mantz said. “Sometimes there were kids on his bus that were upset and he went out of his way to make them feel safe. One time he gave free art lessons to a woman in the community who was going through a rough period.”

For many years, he and his wife had dressed as Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus and surprised residents at senior centers and children at Catholic schools in the area.

Herlihy was certainly not without compassion, but when Shalmar’s husband died years ago, he gave her a few tough love words of wisdom.

“It’s your life now so suck it up and move on.”

Then when her son was 8 years old, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

“I said to my dad, ‘I don’t know if I could do this,’ and he said, ‘You don’t have to do this.’ I knew what he meant and thankfully my son recovered.”

When asked what she would most miss about her father, Shalmar’s voice filled with tears.

“I’m going to miss everything,” she said.

In particular, she recalled going out to dinner with him, and especially, their 10-year tradition of once-a-week breakfasts at the Bowmanstown Diner.

“Eggs and home fries were his usual order,” she said with a laugh.

Richard Herlihy was a former member of Orioles Nest No. 183, Lehighton, and the Beaver Run Rod and Gun Club. In addition to his love of art, he enjoyed cooking, gardening and spending time with his loving family.

He will be forever remembered as a man about town with a heart as big as one of his storefront murals.

Contributions in his name may be made to Turn To Us, 616 North St., Jim Thorpe, PA 18229, or The Alzheimer’s Foundation, 322 Eighth Ave., New York, N.Y. 10001.