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RHINEBECK, N.Y. — Stephen Duricko, a founding partner of topical pain relief manufacturer Topical BioMedics Inc., passed away at age 74.
The company said Tuesday that Duricko died on Oct. 21 at his residence in Red Hook, N.Y.
He co-founded Topical BioMedics, the maker of Topricin, with partners Lou Paradise and Aurora Paradise in 1994 and served as company vice president for 20 years.
After serving in the divisional intelligence G-2 section of the U.S Army, Duricko chose a career path that included 32 years of experience as a production manager, buyer, sales manager and director of marketing.
He managed the production and distribution of three manufacturing plants that made clothing for a major men’s ready-to-wear house and then became assistant plant manager of a 500-employee production plant in Philadelphia that served the menswear/garment industry. He later was promoted to the corporate office in Manhattan, where he served as senior buyer of men’s accessories for a national chain of 125 clothing stores.
Duricko began his sales career in the mid-1970s in the employee benefits arena, where he specialized in health benefits and in developing custom plans for midsize corporations in New York and New Jersey. In 1986, he was appointed director of marketing for Oxford Health Plans, then a startup HMO operating in the tristate area. He has also provided independent marketing consulting to the managed health care industry.
"Mr. Duricko’s genuine concern for helping people has been paramount throughout his career," Lou Paradise commented. "As a valued partner, he brought his management expertise, integrity and solid work ethic to Topical BioMedics, and his consistent efforts for over 20 years contributed materially to the success we have come to know with the Topricin brand. He was a dear friend and brother, and he will be greatly missed by his Topricin family."
