RICHARD ZUSCHLAG March 28, 1948 - June 5, 2024
STAFF FILE PHOTO BY LESLIE WESTBROOK
A LIFE AND LEGACY I
n November 1963, while still in
high school, Richard Zuschlag re-
paired the school’s public address
system so the principal could announce
the death of President John F. Kennedy. In 1971, he saw a business opportunity after Acadiana funeral homes stopped providing private ambulance service. He began Acadian Ambulance, driving an ambulance during the day and Richard Zuschlag, a Pennsylvania native who moved to Lafayette in 1970, once fixed his high school’s public address system on a fateful day in November 1963 so the principal could announce the death of President John F. Kennedy.
working as a dispatcher at night, and surrounding himself with hard workers who were loyal to him. He grew the company, still based in Lafayette, into one that has 5,200 employees and operates in four states and 37 parishes in Louisiana. The longtime chairman and CEO died June 5 at the age of 76.
THE
ACADIANA
ADVOCATE THE
ADVOCATE SUNDAY, JUNE 16, 2024
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA