Private Richard Stahlecker was born September 21, 1893 in Naper Nebraska. He was the son of Josiah and Mary Stahlecker (Stahlikes).  Both of his parents were born in Russia.  He was a rancher for most of his early life. For a time he lived in the Basin area in southwestern Boyd County,  He moved to South Dakota, and eventually to Canada.  He enlisted into the military at Chase, British Columbia on January 4, 1916. He was part of the 54th Battalion in the Canadian Army. He was not married and died May 7, 1917 of wounds; he was buried at Boulogne Eastern Cemetery, Boulogne-sur-Mer, France.  His name is one of the 17 listed  on the World War I memorial in front of the Boyd County Courthouse in Butte, Nebraska. 

Sources:  1900 and 1910 US Federal Census, Canadian Great War Project,  Special thanks to the Stahlecker and Derickson families of Spencer, Nebraska