Jack Smull Reinhold

Reinhold, Jack Smull
of Scottsdale, Arizona died on December 26, 2011. His wife of 67 years was by his side. Jack came into this world on June 15, 1923 at a ranch outside of St. Francis Kansas, the youngest son of Alice and Sam Reinhold. His early life included a fair amount of ranch hazing - his older brother giving him a horseback ride into the barn, knocking Jack off the back with a flying dismount and notifying the ranch house "I killed Jack"; his uncles convincing Jack his given name was "Jack Ass" Reinhold and other similar training. Jack's father died when Jack was 8 years old and the family moved into St. Francis where his mother worked at the local bank. Jack's ranch education continued as a young teen-ager on a relative's ranch in the Texas panhandle. On a cattle drive over several summer days the hands convinced Jack that the best cure for his extremely chapped lips was to put cigarette paper on them, leading to the inevitable lesson learned when the dried paper had to be peeled off. Jack always looked up to his older siblings Charles, Iris and Novella. Charles ("Ack"), the oldest, was the quarterback of the 1940 Colorado University football team that played in the first Cotton Bowl. Jack followed in those footsteps as a star athlete (but not so stellar student). Perhaps his highest high school achievement was sitting next to the beautiful Berenice Raile who would become his high school sweetheart and later his wife of 67 years. At graduation he had earned a scholarship to Ottawa (Kansas) University where he met Ray Silvius who became a lifelong friend. During their time at Ottawa in the early 1940s they understood the world situation, and both elected to join the Army Air Corps in their sophomore year rather than face the inevitable draft. Jack earned his pilots wings at Williams Field beginning the first part of a long-time affiliation with Arizona. Jack flew a variety of training aircraft at posts in Texas and California. It was at the latter post where Jack and Berenice tied the knot on August 10, 1944 followed by a short honeymoon in San Francisco. Jack was eventually assigned to a fighter squadron in Italy flying combat in a P-38 Lightning. Following victory in Europe, Jack once again became a student at Colorado University studying engineering. Before he was able to graduate, his family got in the way and Jack signed on with the U. S. Bureau of Reclamation. Relocations came often in the early years with stops in Washington, Nebraska and Utah before a transfer to the Glen Canyon Project in Page, Arizona in 1958 reconnected Jack with Arizona and he never lived elsewhere from that time. Jack retired from the Bureau of Reclamation after 33 years of service in 1978 and subsequently served the newly formed City of Page as City Engineer and five years as City Manager. Throughout his life Jack gave back to others through service to his community as a Mason, a Rotarian (President of the Page Chapter), as a boy scout leader (both his sons became Eagle Scouts) and by providing transportation to out-of-town sporting events, band concerts and other school events all over Northern Arizona while his three children were in high school. Part of Jack's family paid the ultimate price of freedom for their country: his older brother Charles was killed in action in the South Pacific during World War II and his oldest son Michael was killed in action in Viet Nam. Jack was preceded in death by mother and father, his three siblings, his oldest son, Michael J. Reinhold. Jack is survived by his wife, Berenice, daughter Patsy Tobis of West Des Moines, Iowa and son Charles (Lynn) of Council, Idaho; grandchildren Kristan Ellsworth of Emmett, Idaho, Micah Reinhold (Eric Weeks) of Hayward, California and Zachary Tobis of Des Moines, Iowa; and great-grandchildren Emma Ellsworth, Railie Ellsworth, Ian Ellsworth and Henry Weeks. A memorial service was held in Scottsdale, AZ on December 29, 2011. A graveside service will be held on June 15, 2012 in St. Francis, Kansas. Contributions can be made to Hospice of Arizona or the John Wesley Powell Museum in Page, AZ