When Tony Cherico, a longtime doctor in Riverton, died earlier this year, the Palmyra Riverton Cinnaminson Rotary knew they needed to do something.

Having celebrated his 30-year membership with the club just three months before his death, that wasn’t enough, said club President Sue Migliaccio.

“He took care of everything,” Migliaccio said of Cherico. “It was a huge loss to the club.”

So, in his honor, the Rotary donated a park bench, and it now sits in Riverton Memorial Park, not far from where he practiced on Main Street.

“He treated most of the people in Riverton—from children all the way up to grandparents,” Migliaccio said.

Migliaccio and other Rotary members aren’t quite sure of the specifics surrounding his death.

“He had complications. He didn’t tell us much about it,” she said. “He told us a week before his passing—‘this weekend I’ll be taking visitors. I will not be here next week.’ He was private in that respect.”

After his death, a Rotary member contacted officials in Riverton about the park bench. The borough installed the bench free of charge, said Migliaccio, as the park was being renovated at the same time.

“To be a member for 30 years is a huge accomplishment,” said Migliaccio. “He was really the engine that kept us going in the club. It’s taking three people now to do his one job. We’re all learning.”