Denise Reichmann

Reichmann, Denise Age 63 Of Brooklyn Park Survived by her husband Harry and 3 children: Anne; Scott (Cavan) Reagan Reichmann of Brooklyn Park and Elizabeth (Shawn) Dixon of Duluth; a granddaughter Savannah; also by a sister Deborah Stark of Kenosha and brother Dan (Judy) Stark of Madison. Visitation 3–5p.m. with memorial service TUESDAY at 5 p.m. at MUELLER MEMORIAL PARKWAY CHAPEL, 835 Johnson Parkway at E. 7th St., St. Paul. We can’t control how much time we have together, but only how much love we give with it. Denise taught us, above all, the value of doing just that. She put the needs of everyone else before her own and took great joy in bringing happiness to others. She was the kind of mom who could spend an entire meal refilling your plate without taking a bite of her own food, the kind of friend who would fret over a concern you shared for days before remembering she had any of her own. She would rave about the incredible things her kids and friends did and never once thought to mention her own accomplishments. She had a life full of love and laughter. On some occasions, perhaps if she made a Tolkien reference in mixed company, the laughter was largely her own, but we appreciated that because her laugh made everyone smile. Unless you were a bad person, in which case we suspect you may be sitting in the wrong room right now. Denise really only associated with good people, you see. She was a selfless woman who always put her loved ones first, though we sometimes worried she might trade us all in for a chance to take care of a hobbit. She listened to every problem we shared and dutifully remembered our every concern in the way only someone who could easily recall details of the more than 2,000 books* she had on her shelves. She loved music and attended every Minneapolis Pops Orchestra performance without fail (we have proof from the maestro himself that she was indeed the No. 1 fan), always in the front row, always yelling “Brava!” and displaying a fierce devotion and loyalty hard to believe even humanly possible until you saw the look in her eyes when Harry walked into the room. She wanted nothing more than to be surrounded by her family and friends and we can at least take comfort in knowing how much love surrounded her at all times, even in her final moments. She wanted us to live and love and laugh and so we do those things, even today, knowing she is watching over us and wants to see our smiles. We will love and take care of each other during these difficult times. That is the kind of people she taught and inspired us all to be. *As of 2013 bookshelf audit conducted by Harry Reichmann; more recent activity may have doubled this number.