Longtime executive director of Lutherlyn in Prospect, the Rev. Randal Gullickson, died Sunday at his home.

A keen outdoorsman, traveler and proponent of outdoor ministries, Gullickson became ill in October while visiting Nice, France.

His wife of 45 years, Tracy Gullickson, said it was a recurrence of cancer.

He was born in Billings, Mont., and went to school in Wisconsin. After graduating from Luther-Northwestern Seminary in St. Paul, Minn., in 1977, he served as an assistant minister at Grace Lutheran Church in Kenosha, Wis., before becoming executive director of Luther Park Bible Camp in Danbury, Wis.

He applied and was hired as executive director of Lutherlyn, the Lutheran camp and retreat, in 1985.

During his 31-year tenure at the camp, the “Cabin Village Plan” was launched in 1987 to replace the crumbling, summer-only, block cabins with winterized, high-comfort replacements.

In 1988, the 40th anniversary of Lutherlynn was observed with a daylong celebration.

The “Keeping the Promise Appeal” was launched in 1994 to fund the construction of a water treatment plant, a sewage treatment plant and a new winterized dining hall. More than 220 Lutheran congregations participated in that appeal.

Other projects completed during Gullickson's term as executive director included construction of the last village of cabins, Arbor Village, and completion of the main camp cabin replacement project.

Gullickson retired in 2016.

“He was an excellent fit for Lutherlyn,” said Kurt Kusserow, bishop of Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), a partner with Lutherlynn. “His personality and spirit continue to be there in the most positive ways.”

“I know him to be unceasing in energy, creativity and faith,” said Kusserow.

“He was, in the best sense of the word, irrepressible, always reaching for the next thing, trying to communicate, plant the seed of faith in young people,” he said.

His successor as executive director at Lutherlyn, Deb Roberts, said she had known Gullickson since she was a child camper and had worked with him for 16 years.

Roberts said, “I learned so much from him. He had so much wisdom.

“He helped me to use my own gifts to serve others and how to help other people — campers and staff — to use whatever gifts they had to help others.”

Tracy Gullickson said, “He was passionate about working with youth and loved the outdoors.”

He loved canoeing and backpacking and spent every minute he could pursing those activities.

Roberts said, “He was pretty outdoorsy, and he was all-around handy. You could think up a thing that doesn't exist and he would go and make it that day.”

“After he retired, we've been doing a lot of traveling,” Tracy Gullickson said. “We did some volunteer work at an outdoor camp in North Carolina. He felt the need to make use of his time.”

The Gullicksons spent time with family, became reacquainted with old friends and traveled the United States.

Gullickson's impact on others could be measured by the emails and Facebook messages that began pouring in as news of his passing spread.

“I got hundreds and hundreds of messages and texts from people he didn't know he had impacted, whether by getting through a rough patch or bolstering their faith,” said Roberts.

Gullickson is survived by his son, Jason; a daughter, Anna, a grandson, Malcolm, and his brother, Jeff Gullickson of Hubertus, Wis.

Rev. Randal Gullickson