Albert F. Paschall Jr. was born in Norristown on December 19, 1953. His parents were Albert Paschall Sr. and Marie T. Hanlon Paschall. Raised in Bridgeport Al Jr. attended Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic School, graduating from the former Bishop Kenrick High School in 1971. As a child he acquired the alter ego “Rocky.” He was nicknamed after the boxer Rocky Marciano due to trauma at birth. He was born with a black eye, a cut on his forehead and swollen lip. Rocky Marciano appeared on the front of the newspaper the day Al Paschall was born with similar marks on his face due to a recent prize fight. His father, seeing the photo and noting the similarity, said “We have a Rocky.” And the nickname stuck. As a young man after high achool the nickname faded. To the public “Rocky” Paschall became “Al.” Though to his family he always remained “Rocky.”
Al Paschall was educated as a journalism student attending night school in Philadelphia. He subsequently worked for The Times Herald and Today’s Post in Upper Merion. Eventually running the Post’s office in King of Prussia. As an adolescent Rocky joined the Cub Scouts and later was a Boy Scout. He was one of the first Eagle Scouts in Bridgeport. He did this without a father. It was through the help and assistance of Mr. D’assandro, Mr. DeRisoto and the other leaders in his Scout troop that this was possible. It was there that he earned the give back attitude and goodness that comes to you when you do. Early on Rocky became a protector to his younger sister Lisa. He would walk her to Our Lady of Mt Carmel School, making sure she would make it to class safely. The older girls at school wanted to play with her at recess so that they could get a chance to talk to her brother Rocky. They would always ask “Who does your brother like?” with her answer always “ME!”
As she grew up, he was both brother and father to her. From going to her first piano recital, parent night at BKHS to making her sweat when a date would arrive at the front door. One time a boy arrived to pick her up for a date. He blew his car horn to announce his arrival. Protective older brother Rocky was upstairs in his room. He was down the stairs 3 at a time to let her know that she wasn’t going out until the boy came to the door. That she should never settle for less.
Al Paschall married Patricia Keily March 22, 1986 at the Freedom Foundation at Valley Forge. They had two sons, Calvin and Graham. The new family lived in Bridgeport raising their sons there. The couple divorced amicably in September of 2001, remaining on friendly terms. In 2006 Al married his second wife Dianne Ryan-Paschall. In 1989 Al Paschall founded the King of Prussia Chamber of Commerce, serving as its president until 2006. When the King of Prussia Chamber merged with other local chambers to create the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce he led the new combined chamber through difficult economic times. In 1992 Al Paschall cofounded a conservative think tank, the Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research. According to his wife he and a friend sketched out the idea for the new institute on a napkin at a Chester County diner.
The Lincoln Institute debuted “The Lincoln Radio Journal” in 1995. Starting as a monthly half hour public affairs radio program on only 6 stations it expanded to a weekly program on 81 stations airing throughout Pennsylvania with Al Paschall as its host-commentator. A number of the commentaries from the program such “The Circle Game,” “Somedays” and “We the People,” were collected as a book entitled “I Haven’t Found Laura Yet”. The book sold well in the King of Prussia area. The commentaries were written in a biting, humorous and educational style.
In 2000 Al was the prime force in the relocation of the King of Prussia Inn. Built in 1713 the Inn, located in the middle of Route 202 was the namesake for the original village hamlet and had become a symbol of the Greater King of Prussia area. This was when his “Rocky” persona came to the fore. Al Paschall gathered together various state and local groups into a movement to get the job done. Cutting through red tape, conceiving, planning and implementing a strategy. Together with the King of Prussia Historical Society, Upper Merion Township, PennDot, state representatives and more he helped navigate, coax and enlist disparate groups and individuals to move the King of Prussia Inn from out of the path of the wrecking ball. Today, though unseen and inaccessible to the general public, the Inn survives largely due to his efforts. He wrote of his experience in his pamphlet book: “The Inn Mover’s Diary”.
For years Al “Rocky” Paschall lived near the relocated King of Prussia Inn at an apartment on Bill Smith Boulevard in Upper Merion. After 25 years of using his writing and speaking skills as a newspaperman to bolster his various causes Al Paschall retired on June 30, 2011. For a while he lived in West Chester, then Florida. He died May 28, 2012 in Melbourne, Florida. He was the “Rocky” for the chamber of commerce, a fighting shining knight and champion of local business, Greater King of Prussia area interests and for the interests and happiness of his family and friends.
Sources for this article: Lisa Paschall Jack, Calvin and Graham Paschall, The Times Herald obituary.
