On Jan. 8, the YMCA of Metro North – Lynn YMCA will give out the first annual Dick Rehal Memorial Scholarship.
The scholarship, sponsored by Lina Rehal, his wife of 22 years, will be awarded to a Lynn youth and will cover the cost of a one-year membership to the Lynn YMCA.
Dick Rehal was a “Lynn guy.”
He graduated from Lynn Classical in 1960 and went on to Williams College and the Graduate School of Banking/University of Wisconsin.
He worked at Security National in Lynn and spent the last 15 years of his 47-year career as a vice president of retail banking at Eastern Bank, retiring in 2005.
Dick was known for his dedication to the greater Lynn community.
He was on the Board of the Lynn Park Commission from 1976-1988. He was a past president of the Greater Lynn YMCA, Community Minority Cultural Center, Lynn Lions Club and the Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce, where he was chosen as Business Person of the Year in 1991.
“As the one-year anniversary of his passing got closer, I wanted to honor his memory in a special way,” said Lina Rehal. “The Hospice support group I was in gave us some good suggestions. I took one of the ideas a step further and decided to do something for one of the many organizations he had been involved with over the years.
I chose the Lynn YMCA because he was so proud of his work as a Past President and a Board member when the new building in Peabody was being built. Since January 8 was our wedding anniversary, I chose that as the date for the scholarship to be given every year. I think he would have been happy with both of my choices.”
