Kenneth Reinhardt

1940 - 2023

Kenneth Reinhardt
Born: November 10, 1940 in Chicago, IL
Died: March 15, 2023 in Lafayette, IN
Kenneth Lee Reinhardt, 82, of Sycamore, IL, died Wednesday, March 15, 2023 in Lafayette, IN. Born November 10, 1940, in Chicago, he was the youngest child of Joseph and Mary (Gafrick) Reinhardt.
Ken married his Wittenberg sweetheart Carol Sue Heiges on August. 26, 1961. For over 60 years they shared with each other and with their children and grandchildren their passionate love of camping, canoeing, birding, bicycling, and of being in and preserving the natural world. He and Sue especially enjoyed biking and birding on Sanibel Island, and canoeing at Shabbona Lake. Sue predeceased him on May 29, 2022.
Ken is survived by their daughters, Debra (Robert) Givan of West Lafayette, IN and Kristin (Hart) DuBois of Polo, IL; ten grandchildren and four great-grandchildren; his sisters, Jean Anderson of Elk Grove Village and Carole Marchi of Northbrook; and his cats, Sadie and Sandy.
With a focus on biology, Ken earned BS and MS degrees at NIU. For 30 years he taught biology at Sycamore High School where he was known as an excellent and enthusiastic teacher, "tough but fair." He also led the Outdoor Club. As a Star Wars fan and collector of belt buckles, Mr. Reinhardt was known to wear his "May the Force Be With You" buckle on exam days. Throughout his years of teaching, Ken was a leader in the Sycamore Education Association, serving as grievance chair and as a member of the SEA bargaining team. Many Sycamore teachers and SEA leaders have been former students of his. After his retirement from teaching, Ken continued to live out his passion for education by serving for 12 years as a union field representative for the Illinois Education Association. He was known as a skilled negotiator in securing collective bargaining agreements on behalf of local unions. IEA coworkers remember Ken as a supportive and knowledgeable colleague.
Ken was a lifelong outdoorsman. He led Boundary Water canoe trips for high school students, friends, and family. He bicycled through Europe and the Rocky Mountains. He loved to fish with his friend, Bud Sorge, and his sister, Carole Marchi. He was also a skilled sailor and nature photographer.
Ken's wanderlust led him to Alaska, Nova Scotia, Australia, and Europe. He took several road trips to Holden Village, a remote Lutheran learning community in the Cascade Mountains. As a Cubs fan he attended spring training in Arizona for many years.
Ken was a long time member of Salem Lutheran Church where he served with grace and wisdom on synod committees and the church council. He was a sound technician for worship and for the puppet ministry. At Salem he was an outspoken supporter of LGBTQ equality.
As a beloved husband, father, grandpa, and uncle, Ken will be remembered for his Weber grill feasts, model train set, and pet menagerie. He loved sharing his interests with his grandkids, from being in nature to photography and investigating pond water under his microscope. Extended family fondly recall decades of Pumpkin Fest gatherings with the host in his pumpkin hat.
A Celebration of Life will be held at Salem Lutheran Church in Sycamore on July 22 at 10 o'clock with fellowship time to follow. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to Northern Public Radio (www.northernpublicradio.org), for whom he volunteered regularly, or to the Nature Conservancy (https://preserve.nature.org).