Lorin C. Richtmeyer

Family-Placed Death Notice

RICHTMEYER, Lorin C. Dr. Lorin C. Richtmeyer, born August 15, 1924 in Allentown, PA passed away peacefully in Atlanta on June 8th, 2011 at Brighton Gardens of Dunwoody. Lorin died of complications of Alzheimer's and heart failure. He was preceded in death by his wife of 53 years, Grace Richtmeyer on July 4, 2001. Lorin is survived by his son Gary and wife Connie of Zephyrhills, FL; daughters Karen and husband Phil Siegel of Atlanta; Debra Richtmeyer and husband Steve Rummel of Champaign, IL; and Janice and husband Tony Coppa III of Suffolk, VA; three grandchildren (Kurt Richtmeyer, Brenda Gagne, and Alex Rummel), and six great-grandchildren. Like many men of his generation, Lorin joined the US Army during World War II, serving mainly in Italy as a cryptographer deciphering classified messages. During the war, he kept up his main passion for music by forming a swing band that helped entertain his combat buddies. He returned home with an honorable discharge, 2 Bronze Stars and a Victory Medal on December 10, 1945, he went on to complete his Bachelor of Music degree at Central Michigan University and met the love of his life Grace. They married on June 20, 1948. He received his Master of Music from Michigan State University in 1950 and taught music at Bad Axe Public Schools until 1956 and Resurrection High School in Lansing, Michigan in 1957 where completed his year of doctoral residency at MSU. He completed his Ph.D in Music Education in 1966. Accepting his dream job at Northern Michigan University in 1957, he and Grace moved their family to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where he was the director of the Marching Band, Concert Band and Wind Ensemble and taught various brass classes as well as Advanced Repair of Band Instruments. Lorin retired from NMU in 1983 as a Full Professor. Not content to retire completely, he accepted an appointment at the University of North Texas to teach and train other band directors the Care & Repair of Musical Instruments. They lived in Denton, Texas where he taught for 13 years. He and Graces' final retirement move brought them to Atlanta in 1997. Never content to just sit around, he saw an opportunity to use his musical knowledge and talents by repairing all the musical instruments (at no charge) at the Dekalb Middle School near where they lived. An avid runner before it became fashionable, Lorin enjoyed not only the health benefits of running, but also the travel of going to many special races. Among the hundreds of races he and Grace completed (many with their children) were marathons in New York, Honolulu, Portland, Dallas, and London. His last marathon was completed on his 70th birthday in Atlantic City, NJ, and his last half-marathon was in Atlanta at age 77. He continued to walk almost daily after that until age 85. His body was cremated by R.T. Patterson Funeral & Creation Services. According to his wishes, his and Grace's ashes will be spread at a special location by his children at a later date. Those wishing to honor his life are asked that memorials be made to the Alzheimer's Association (www.Alz.org) or the American Cancer Association (www.cancer.org)