William F. Reineke Sr.

1928 - 2023

News story
By Mark Zaborney
Blade Staff Writer

FOSTORIA - William F. Reineke, Sr., founder of a chain of family-owned auto dealerships across the region, who had wide respect among peers in the profession, died Monday in assisted living at Good Shepherd Home, Fostoria. He was 95.

He was in declining health in recent months and under hospice care for the last three weeks, said his son state Sen. William F. Reineke, Jr. (R., Tiffin). Home for 12 years was a villa at Good Shepherd before he moved to assisted living in September.

With a Ford dealership in Fostoria, he started what is now Reineke Family Dealerships. His sons Thomas Reineke, Daniel Reineke, and Senator Reineke are co-owners and led an expansion this century, with the company now made up of auto and recreational vehicle dealerships.

Mr. Reineke went to the office daily until 15 years ago.

"My dad always liked cars," Senator Reineke said Wednesday. "He chronicled his life by the car he drove at the time. He liked the sales piece of it. He liked engaging with customers and putting the deal together.

"He taught us to be loyal and how to participate in our communities. He taught us respect for our elders. He taught philanthropy. He just had great fortitude. He knew what he wanted to do and pressed forward."

Mr. Reineke and his wife, Corrine, made sure their 10 children had a Catholic education, Daniel Reineke said. The way the couple brought up their children yielded lessons relevant in business and life.

"If you do what's right you can't be wrong. That's how they raised us," the younger Mr. Reineke said.

Mr. Reineke began selling cars in 1955 at the former Banham Oldsmobile in Toledo. In 1960, he bought what had been the Oliver Pore Buick and Oldsmobile agency in Fostoria and moved his family to town.

In 1967, he bought Willis J. Hakes Inc. Ford, then the third oldest Ford agency in the country, established in the early 20th Century, and moved the business, rebranded Reineke Ford, to his dealership location on East Tiffin Street.

Five years later, Mr. Reineke opened a larger, modern dealership building just north of Fostoria. Expansion followed to other communities.

He was a former chairman of the Ohio Automobile Dealers Association and was elected by dealers statewide to be their representative on the National Automobile Dealers Association.

"He was an icon," said Tim Doran, president of the Ohio Automobile Dealers Association from 1976-2016. "When your peers in a competitive business elect you to represent them, that's quite a compliment.

"He wasn't the kind of guy who was going to try to make a speech and impress you. He was a homespun, down-to-earth good solid thinker," Mr. Doran said.

Senator Reineke later held those roles with state and national associations.

"The Reineke organization and their family are universally respected across the state of Ohio and the country," Mr. Doran said.

Mr. Reineke was a Tiffin University trustee from 1986-2016, when he was named a trustee emeritus.

"His contributions and impact on Tiffin University during his time on the board and after were momentous," said Lillian Schumacher, university president, in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to Bill's family, his friends, and the many colleagues and TU students he impacted throughout his life."

The university in 2020 awarded him an honorary doctorate of humane letters. In a news release announcing the honorary degree, the university said he was "known for his business acumen and strategic risk-taking. [Mr.] Reineke is the true essence of an entrepreneur and family man."

Daniel Reineke has been a trustee of the university since 2015.

William Frank Reineke was born Feb. 12, 1928, to Frances and William Francis Reineke and grew up in West Toledo. He was a 1946 graduate of Macomber Vocational High School. He enlisted in the Marine Corps afterward and served stateside during the Korean War.

He was a longtime member of St. Wendelin Church in Fostoria and, most Sundays, was an usher at 9 a.m. Mass. He was a fourth-degree member of the Knights of Columbus.

He'd been a member of the Hilltop Club, a Fostoria service organization, the Rotary Club, and the Elks Club and took part in community business and economic development groups.

He and his wife, the former Corrine Barchick, married Jan. 31, 1953. She died March 31, 2003.

Surviving are his sons William Reineke, Jr., Thomas Reineke, John Reineke, and Daniel Reineke; daughters Jacqueline Mitchell, Elizabeth Jadwisiak, Nancy Nusser, Cynthia Taylor, Susan Casale, and Kathryn Schneider; 23 grandchildren, and 15 great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be from 2-8 p.m. Thursday at Hoening & Son Funeral Home, Fostoria, where a vigil will begin at 7:30 p.m. A funeral Mass will begin at 10:30 a.m. Friday at St. Wendelin Church, Fostoria.

The family suggests tributes to the Reineke Family Foundation in care of the Greater Fostoria Community Foundation, P. O. Box 684, Fostoria, or a charity of the donor's choice.