Jerome A. Reininger Sr.
1923 ~ 2017
Jerome A. Reininger Sr. was born July 19, 1923 (the 5th of l3 children) to Erhard and Nora Reininger of Seguin, Texas. He died on May 15, 2017, in Gilbert, Arizona with his wife by his side.
Jerome attended St. Peter and Paul's Catholic School in New Braunfels through sixth grade. He continued his education at Navarro School and graduated in 1942. At 19, he enlisted in the Air Force and received training in St. Petersburg, Florida and Colorado Springs. Jerome was stationed at Mountain Home Air Force Base in l944 for l8 months. While stationed there, he met the true love of his life, Leona D. Chase of Eagle at a dance in Boise. Jerome was honorably discharged from the service on March 1, l946 in Washington State. Jerome and Leona were married at Saint John's Cathedral in Boise on April 27, 1946.
Jerome was employed at W.O. Bedal in Crouch, Idaho, B.F. Goodrich, Hardy's Tire Shop, IML Freight, and Boise Heating in Boise. While at IML Freight, he was recognized as the second most successful salesman in the country during the l970's.
Jerome retired along with his wife in l992 enjoying life to its fullest. In l994 they traveled to Mesa, Arizona and liked it so well that they decided to buy a second home. From then on these "Snow Birds" traveled south every fall and returned to Idaho the next spring. Jerome had a very active life while living in Arizona: attending water aerobics, floor aerobics, walking at least 4 miles a day seven days a week, playing cards, bicycling, and bowling. Jerome enjoyed golfing but in his later years he had to give up some activities for health reasons.
Jerome and his wife made many trips to the Hawaiian Islands, which they truly enjoyed. After retiring they traveled a lot to the Oregon coast, Texas, California, Canada, and went on numerous cruises. In December 2002 they took their entire family to Maui for a two-week vacation. Later in June of 2003, they took their family to the Reininger Family Reunion in New Braunfels, Texas. They enjoyed two trips to Ireland with their priest from Arizona in 2002 and 2007.
In his golden years, both Jerome and Leona spent most of their time at their summer home in McCall which was enjoyed by their entire family. He loved it when friends would drop by to visit and he could "shoot the breeze".
He is survived by his wife of 71 years, Leona; his daughter Christine and her husband Dan Caron of Antioch, California; his son Jerome Jr. (Jerry) and his wife Joni Reininger of Eagle; and his grandchildren: Nicholas Caron, Kristl Caron, Jerome Reininger III, and Austin Welsh. Jerome has one great-granddaughter, Hailey Caron of Antioch, California.
Jerome is survived by his brothers Leroy, Fred, James, sister Anna Marie Schievelbein all of Texas and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, brothers William and Ruben, and sisters Clara Lackey, Adelaide Lamprecht, Julia Lehmann, Ruby Koehler, Melitta Rabe, and Melinda Mueller.
Jerome was a member of the Catholic Church.
Graveside services will be held at a future date.
The family requests any donations in Jerome's name be made to:
Hospice of the Valley
2020 E. Woodside Court
Gilbert, AZ 85297
http://www.hov.org
or
St. Mary's Church
2612 W. State Street
Boise, ID 83702

A Man Named Jerome
I am writing about my grandpa
Jerome
He will soon enter our Lord's
home
He is a man that I care for and
love
Before long he will be in heaven
above
My grandma taught me what
to do
That family is a priority and we
will pull through
Throughout these past three
years
My grandma and I have shed
many tears
No one wanted to admit what
we would face
The time I spent with him I
would never erase
I treasure all the memories and
time we had
My grandpa was a blessing and
for that I am glad
The sun came out and rose
today
My grandpa unfortunately just
passed away
I can't explain how I loved him
so much
His heart affected every soul
he touched
My grandpa Jerome is someone
I will miss
He brought into my life a lot
of bliss
He is the best grandpa he's
better than most
He's the best grandpa from
coast to coast.
JAR3
(Thank you for giving me joy in
life)