Former Chrysler Chairman John Riccardo is dead at the age of 91

Riccardo was the man who brought in Lee Iacocca to save Chrysler in the 1980’s and he’s died at the age of 91. Riccardo attended the University of Michigan basketball game last Saturday in Ann Arbor and died afterward. He was a finance man who was thrust into the leadership post at Chrysler in the early 70’s. Ricardo had to make severe job cuts at Chrysler during the Arab oil embargo but then recruited Iacocca and stepped aside so Iacocca could try to revive the failing automaker. Iacocca later called Riccardo a real hero.  But before Riccardo left, he put into motion the front-wheel drive cars that ultimately saved the company. Riccardo is survived by his wife Thelma; his sons Terry, Peter, and Reverend Father John Riccardo; and his daughters Lynn Duffy and Mary Kay Billington, along with 11 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. Visitation is scheduled at Lynch and Sons Funeral Home in Clawson on Thursday and a funeral mass will be held at Holy Name parish in Birmingham on Friday at 10:00 a.m.