Peter Crouse "Pete" Rekemeyer

1934 - 2024

Peter "Pete" Crouse Rekemeyer July 16, 1934 - January 17, 2024 Peter "Pete" Crouse Rekemeyer, age 89, died January 17th, 2024, at his home on the Redlands with his children present after a long battle with non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

Pete was born in Gloversville, NY, to Walleletta and Harry Rekemeyer on July 16th, 1934. He attended K-12 in his hometown. He would often say that his favorite teacher was his fourth-grade teacher (who happened to be his mother!). He always excelled in mathematics, so after high school, he earned both a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, graduating in 1957.

After College, Pete's engineering degree led him to a project manager's position at the Y12 facility at the government labs in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where he worked from 1959 until 1962. At the Oak Ridge lab, he met his future wife, Eleanor, who was working there as a chemist. Pete and Elle would spend the rest of their lives together and raise three children. After leaving Oak Ridge, Pete spent most of his career working for Union Carbide on various engineering projects, often as the project leader. Union Carbide took Pete and his family to many locales, beginning with Uravan, Co, where both Pete and Ellie fell in love with Western Colorado.

One of the most notable positions that Pete held while working for Union Carbide was as a design engineer for a Vanadium milling facility at Brits in the Republic of South Africa. Pete's working career took his family to Grand Junction, Co; Albuquerque, NM; Boise, ID; West Valley City, Utah; Lewiston, NY; and then back to Grand Junction, where he retired and spent the remainder of his life.

Pete and Ellie loved to travel together and took trips to Australia, Russia, China, and Alaska. Pete loved to camp and fish. He was an avid fly fisherman and learned to tie flies to use in that pursuit. He was a classical music and opera aficionado. Pete had an organized, quick mind and would break down all of life's projects and difficulties into manageable increments, and then he would prioritize them and work on the small tasks until the problem was solved.

He had a dry sense of humor and was quite funny once you figured out he was joking.

Pete is survived by his wife of 62 years, Eleanor Peck Rekemeyer of Grand Junction, CO, and two children, Cynthia Lyell (Steven Lyell) of Anchorage, Alaska, and David Rekemeyer (Madelaine) of Mason, WI. His grandchildren include Erin Parker (Thomas), Kurt Lyell (Jordan), Tsavo Rekemeyer, Fern Rekemeyer, and Drew Rekemeyer.

A memorial service will be held at the First Presbyterian Church of Grand Junction at 2 pm on Wednesday, January 24th. Reception following afterwards at the church.

Funeral Arrangements are being handled by Callahan-Edfast Mortuary and Crematory.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Alzheimer's Foundation of Colorado.

"Sic Transit Gloria Mundi"-So passes the Glory of the World.