William Basil "Bill" Reinhard

1960 - 2020

William "Bill" Basil Reinhard
William "Bill" Basil Reinhard age 60 died peacefully of natural causes on Saturday, August 29, 2020. Bill was valiant in his over 2 year battle with multiple illnesses and was heroic when he decided to enter hospice in the last week of his life. The picture is of Bill and his brothers. Bill's late mother Evelyn always said "stick together boys" and the Reinhard brothers always looked out for one another throughout their lives. Bill is on the left, Ken in the middle, and Bill's late brother Jeff is on the right. The picture was taken circa 1995 when the brothers went to the College World Series in Omaha, NB. The brothers went to 2 College World Series and 1 College Baseball Regional over the years together. Bill was born on July 12, 1960, in Bridgeport, CT, and graduated from St. Peter Grammar School and Fairfield Prep. Bill was the son of the late Milton E.J. Reinhard, Jr., a former CT Circuit Court Judge, CT State Senator, CT State Representative, Bridgeport City Alderman, and President of the Bridgeport Board of Education. Bill was the son of the late Evelyn M. Reinhard (nee Buynak) who worked for over 20 years at Bridgeport City Welfare who passed away in late 2017. Bill was a working man for 38 years mostly as an auto parts salesman for various Ford Dealerships. But the sum of this man is not from his work but rather in the relationships he had, his good works, and the fun he had of his life. Bill was valiant and tireless as the caregiver for his late mother, Evelyn in the last ten years of her life. Bill helped raise 2 stepchildren of his former wife, Gayle (Charles and Kim Dohn). He raised his stepchildren selflessly for over 20 years. No one was a better or more loyal friend to his friends during his life. Bill always said that the best summer of his life occurred in 1979 when Bill, Karen Brown, and Karen Andalora hung around together during that time. Bill dubbed them the "the 3 Musketeers" during that long summer of his youth. No one was a better NY Mets fan so it was fitting that Bill passed away a few days before Mets legend Tom Seaver. Bill went to a bunch of Mets road games in St. Louis, MO at Busch Stadium with his late brother Jeff in the mid-1980s during the Keith Hernandez, Gooden, and Strawberry years when Bill lived in St. Louis. Bill was always the Mets optimist even when he knew deep down that the Mets would never win another WS if they continued to be owned by the Wilpons. Bill followed the John Brodie led SF 49ers long before Joe Montana and Steve Young led the team to 5 SB winners and he enjoyed every 49ers SB win. He lived and died with the NY Rangers Hockey Club and finally was rewarded when Mark Messier and the Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1994 after a 54-year drought. Bill and his friend Tom Piascik went to a number of Ranger games in the mid-1970s (the Ed Giacomin era) with Tom's aunt Patricia and met and conversed with the late Jim Gordon and Bill Chadwick, the Rangers broadcast team, and Kevin Dobson, the actor who played opposite Telly Savalas in the TV show Kojak at those games. Later in his life, he talked and watched hockey with Jimmy Donegan who was a great friend when Bill was getting ill late in his life. Bill played golf every week for many years even in cold weather at Fairchild Wheeler and other CT courses with Chris Speer, the late Ed Staley, Matt Baena, Chris Nagy, and a number of other great friends. He was also great friends with Elio Boccuzzi of Trumbull, CT, who was Bill's barber for many years. He was also great friends with Paul McNamara. All through his life, he was true to and honest with his family and friends. If the family missed mentioning anyone of Bill's friends we apologize but you know who you are and you know that Bill loved you. Bill's middle name "Basil" was in honor of his paternal uncle Dr. Warren Reinhard's nickname, a wonderful man and a practicing physician for many years in the Fairfield County area. Bill's oldest brother was the late Jeffery P. Reinhard, an attorney who passed away in Lawrence, KS in 2001. He is survived by Kenneth E. Reinhard, a retired attorney in Sheffield Lake, OH. He is also survived by Christine L. Reinhard a retired educator and teacher of Plano, TX, wife of the late Jeff Reinhard, Jeff and Christine's daughter, Melissa C. (Milly) Griffith, an attorney, and her husband Chad, an attorney in Dallas, TX and their children, Harper and Ellis Kate. Bill is also survived by Jeff and Christine's son Christopher T. Reinhard, Assistant Professor of Biogeochemistry at Georgia Tech, and his wife Kathryn "Katy" Zimmermann, Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Georgia Gwinnett College and Ken's Daughter, Julia H. Reinhard, an editorial and commercial hairstylist and groomer of Helsinki, Finland. Bill is also survived by his cousins James Buynak and his wife Carol of Orange CT and William Buynak and his wife Jan of North Carolina. Bill is also survived by his cousin N. Alicia Byers of Washington, D.C. and Berkley Springs, West Virginia. The family would also like to thank Robert Kleffman of Orange, CT, a volunteer from the Agency on Aging, Linda Legall, and David Gervais at Montowese Health and Rehabilitation Center in North Haven, and Kris Pacelli at Northbridge Health Care Center in Bridgeport, CT for their care for Bill during his difficult last 2 years. Bill's life was defined by his quick wit, intelligence, loyalty, humor, good works, and love for his family and friends. Bill will be sorely missed by all. He was the Best of the Best. "Life is a long song but it ends too soon for us all". (Ian Anderson).