Henry O. Reineking
Henry O. Reineking, age 93, passed away peacefully on August 1, 2026, at The Cottages on Golden Pond in Shawano, after recently concluding, “I’ve lived a good life!” He was a longtime resident of Sheboygan, WI, and Legend Lake in Keshena. Henry often stated that his waterfront home on Legend Lake would be his nursing home, and he was blessed to spend nearly all his final days enjoying the sanctuary he loved so deeply – it was truly his happy place.
Henry was born on February 20, 1933, to the late William August Reineking and Meta (Neuhaus) Reineking. He attended Lincoln Erdman Elementary School and graduated from Sheboygan Central High School in 1951. A lifelong learner, Henry dedicated himself to higher education, earning credentials from Sheboygan County Teachers College (1958) and a Bachelor’s Degree from UW-Oshkosh (1962). He pursued advanced studies at Fisk University in Nashville (1964), earned a Master’s Degree from the University of Oklahoma (1966), and completed further post-graduate work at Florida State University (1972).
A proud veteran, Henry served his country in the U.S. Navy from 1954 to 1956 as a Radarman Class A aboard the USS Baltimore. For his service, he was awarded the Navy Occupation Service Medal and the National Defense Service Ribbon.
He taught at Batavia and Pigeon River elementary schools and was a science teacher at Urban Middle School during his professional tenure. He coached basketball for the 7th and 8th grade boys for many years at Urban and also led their photography club in which he had great personal interest, as evidenced by his many professional quality photographs.
In 1955, Henry married Joyce Van De Loo. Their union blessed them with three children: Gregory, Jodi, and Kelly. Henry was a dedicated father and grandfather who took immense joy in his family.
He is loved and will be deeply missed by his children, Greg (Jane) Reineking of Howards Grove, WI; Jodi Reineking of Mesa, AZ; and Kelly (Mark Huck) Reineking of Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. He is further survived by his cherished grandchildren, Amber (Michael) Pifer, William (Jessica) Reineking, and John (Megan) Reineking; and his two great-granddaughters, Audrey and Ava (daughters of William and Jessica), who brought “Grandpops” immense joy and were privileged to know and love him.
He was preceded in death by his parents, eight brothers and one sister Raymond (Jean), Gilbert, Melvin (Florence), William (Peggy), Lester, Robert (Kay), Dorothy (Clifford) Bruesewitz, Vernon (Maria) and Marvin. Grandchild Matthew (Jodi) and nieces and nephews also welcomed him home.
Henry’s “good life” included a love for bowling, golfing, traveling throughout the USA in his motor home and once across the country on his motorcycle! One of his favorite things was to find a babbling brook along his journey, park his RV, set up a folding chair and have a Manhattan. Being the ultimate handyman to the point of learning to build his own house, to rock collecting, camping, fishing, hiking, bird watching and testing his luck at many casinos along the way (with varying degrees of success, of course), were his passions.
Henry always had a thirst for learning and passed on that knowledge to not only his students but also his children and grandchildren. He was fun-loving and always quick with a witty comment or a Dad Joke. He delighted in telling stories, especially ones from his childhood. He was one of the few people on Earth who could say he was struck by lightning twice and survived!
He will be greatly missed, while everyone who knew him knew he led a good, long and yes, a charmed life. He is now in a better place surrounded by family and friends.
