Richard William Rinderknecht

Richard William Rinderknecht Jr., 85, passed away on September 13, 2025. Born November 24, 1939, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Rich was the son of Richard William Rinderknecht, Sr, and Helen Stitgen Rinderknecht. Rich always loved a good party. As a lifelong fan of celebration, his first birthday party was featured in the Cedar Rapids Gazette.

A Merit Scholar, Rich attended Brown University and earned a Master of Science in Mathematics from the University of Iowa. Following college, Rich served as a communications officer in the U.S. Navy, forming lasting friendships aboard the USS Hornet. Over a distinguished professional career, Rich was a brilliant computer programmer, working in Minneapolis, Louisville, Atlanta, and Orlando-though he never installed a word processor on any of his personal PCs.

Rich was an avid reader who possessed an uncanny recall of obscure vocabulary words, current events, and literary references. This talent allowed him to faithfully and confidently complete the daily crossword in pen. The man was the original Wikipedia.

Just like the Willie Nelson Song, Rich's heroes have always been cowboys. Though he had a great appreciation of a wide array of music, "cowboy songs" like those sung by Gene Autry were a familiar soundtrack in his home. When not occupied with a book or crossword puzzle, Rich could often be found with a cold German beer in hand, reveling in his favorite pastime of watching football. Rich was a brilliant and witty man who loved to make people laugh.

Rich is survived by his wife of 40 years, Susan Rinderknecht; his stepdaughter Heather Stray and her husband Brad Stray and their children Kate and Riley Stray; his sister Barbara Rinderknecht Carver; his brother John Rinderknecht; and his niece Jennifer and husband John McLennan and their children Jameson and Kelsey; and niece Kimberly and her husband Craig Velenski and their children Ryan and Logan.