Herbert H. Reichow

HERBERT H. REICHOW Age 92 of White Bear Lake Passed away on May 7th, 2013. Survived by Meda, his wife of 65 years; son, Gary (Vicki); daughters, Maralyn and Julie (Steve) Firkus; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Herb was a proud WWII Vet, a deliveryman for St. Paul Milk and Yocum Oil, and served as the "Bar Manager Extraordinaire" at the White Bear Yacht Club for 28 years. Memorial Service 3:00 PM Monday, May 20, 2013 at Waverly Gardens Presbyterian Homes Chapel, 5919 Centerville Road, North Oaks with visitation one hour prior to the service. Private family interment Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Minneapolis. Our heartfelt thanks to Sue and her NorthEast Hospice team. Our deepest gratitude to the caring staff at Waverly Gardens. You helped fill his days with sunshine and smiles. Memorials preferred. Additional information at www.muellermemorial.com. LIFE STORY Herbert Herman Reichow was born on November 6th, 1920 to Otto and Clara Reichow. He was born and raised on the East side of St. Paul. Though he was born on November 6th, his birth was not recorded until November 10th. That caused some confusion as to when to celebrate his birthday. Herb and his family chose to celebrate his birthday on the 6th - his actual date of birth. Herb had three brothers- Marty, Wally, and Arnie- who have all preceded him in death. Growing up, the Reichow family attended St. John’s Lutheran Church. Herb attended the school there until moving on to Johnson High School in St. Paul. Early in his working life, Herb worked at the local corner grocery. In 1941 and 1942, he worked as a milk delivery man for Elmhurst Dairy in White Bear Lake, delivering milk to retail and wholesale customers. When WWII started, Herb wanted to join the Navy just like his brothers. However, having dropped out of high school in his Senior year of high school, the Navy wouldn’t take him. Still wanting to serve, he enlisted in the Army in September of 1942 at the age of 22. He worked in the 850th Engineer Aviation Battalion driving truck, hauling supplies, ammunition, heavy equipment and building airplane runways. Having served 30 months in Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, and Central Europe, he was awarded four bronze stars as well as five overseas bars and a Good Conduct medal. After being discharged from the Army, Herb worked as a milk delivery man for St. Paul Milk. His route include Washington Elementary in White Bear Lake. It’s here that the Milkman met fourth grade teacher, Meda Ricketts. As they say, the rest is history. Meda and Herb were married on June 28th, 1947 at the First Congregational Church of Anoka, MN. Herb continued to work for St. Paul Milk until they ceased operations. Herb continued to work in delivery for Yocum Oil. After that, Herb worked for the White Bear Lake Yacht Club as the bar manager, which he did for 28 years. He was the bartender extraordinaire. His skill at mixing drinks were like no other. His drinks became known as “Herbie’s.” Gary was born in 1950 while Herb and Meda lived on Bald Eagle Avenue. In 1952, the Campbell Avenue house was built. Maralyn was born in 1953 and Julie in 1956. They lived there for SIXTY years! Waverly Gardens became the third and final place where they lived together. In his 50’s Herb decided to take golf lessons. One of the perks of working at the Yacht club was the ability to play golf on Mondays when the club was closed and was open for employees to play golf. In the evening Meda would take the kids to the club pool to swim. On special occasions the evening would end up in a trip to the Dairy Queen. Herb was also was an avid bowler! He played on a team for 1st State Bank of St. Paul at Sun Ray Bowl every Friday night during the winter bowling season. Herb and Meda were involved with their church, the 1st Presbyterian Church of White Bear Lake, for the duration of their married life. Herb did his part by assisting in counting the offering. Herb was a Charter Member of the White Bear Lake VFW Post 1782. He served as Commander, Bartender, and a position in the Honor Guard. He also helped out with Gary’s Boy Scout troop. During his 70s, Herb got his first library card and became a voracious reader. He read every novel in each series by John Sanford, David Baldacci, James Patterson, and John Grisham. He also enjoyed reading anything found on the NY Times Best Seller list. He also received a daily newspaper until the day of his passing. Each summer, the family would travel to see Meda’s side of the family in Arlington, VA. They also took trips to Auntie Ev and Uncle Helge’s house in Anoka on Sundays and Uncle Wally and Aunti Ea’s house on Maryland Avenue in St. Paul. It was here that Herb and Meda’s children learned to play cards - a pastime later brought down to the grandkids.. A special treat at Uncle Wally’s house was the opportunity to drink soda - something that didn’t get to happen at home. Herb and Meda would often travel around to different parts of the country to attend the reunions of the 850th Engineer Aviation Battalion. During the winter, Herb would flood a skating rink in the backyard where Gary, Maralyn, and Julie learned to skate and play hockey. During the summer months, he would take the family to the Ramsey County Fair where he had a sweet tooth for cotton candy. He also enjoyed traveling to Hugo to dine on some delicious fried chicken at Carpentier’s. Once the grandkids grew up (and got more interesting), he would often cut out articles from the paper he thought or knew we would be interested in. After the children had all moved out of their White Bear Lake house, Meda declared that she was done cooking, other than for holidays and guests. By all accounts, Herb was an excellent cook and helped out with meals. His trademark fare included a well rubbed beef roast, pork and sauerkraut, and bacon and eggs. As he entered his late 80s, Herb was no longer able to drive himself the places he liked to go. This allowed each of his children to get some one on one time in the front seat, taking him to breakfast as Einstein Bagels, where he would get his preferred everything bagel with “Gel-ah-pin-o” cream cheese which needed to be interpreted as Jalapeno for the confused looking bagel staff . Once Einstein Bagel closed, they tried going to Bruegger Bagels instead, but the change in routine was difficult, the bagel trips stopped soon after. The kids also spent time with Herb on trips to the library, doctor appointments, and the weekly shopping trip to Rainbow Foods. The trips to the grocery store became Herb and Meda’s playground and weekly exercise routine. As you can imagine, they became well known by the staff at Rainbow Foods. Hearing loss later in life meant missing out on much of what was going on around him. Being the reader he was and still having good eyesight, we used a white Board to communicate with him. Herb and Meda were married for 65 years. He lived his life with the people he loved and doing what he enjoyed. He also worked hard providing for his family, and was known as a real people person. When you think of Herb, I’m sure you think of the same thing I do- a smile and a cigar.