Westminster's Main Street 'Icon' Dies From Heart Attack

Westminster's Economic Development Administrator Stan Ruchlewicz, an ardent proponent of the success of Main Street, has died from a heart attack.

Mayor Kevin Utz said city employees heard late Tuesday afternoon from Ruchlewicz's wife that her husband had died.

"Stan was a great organizer and really rallied downtown merchants," Utz told Patch. "Stan was the star of the downtown farmers market, especially in getting the Tuesday evening market up and running."

Ruchlewicz was often on Main Street, finding ways to promote businesses and working to bring new business to the corridor.

If he wasn't on Westminster's Main Street, he was exploring the main streets of other thriving towns, searching for new and unique ideas to bring back.

"I think the business owners got to see him at his best," Utz said. "He was an icon on Main Street."

Utz said it will be difficult to fill Ruchlewicz's shoes.

"The city will be at a loss as we try to understand all that he did," Utz said. "I expect we will find that there was a lot of behind the scenes stuff he did that we didn't even know about."