REICHWEIN, Karl Heinz

Karl Heinz Reichwein, beloved husband of Elizabeth passed away March 3, 2016 in his 84th year surrounded by his family, at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Barrie. Karl will be immeasurable missed by his wife and his children, Susan (Dan) in Bancroft, Glen (Carrie) in Toronto, and Kevin in Barrie. Karl will be forever remembered by his six grandchildren, Jaclyn (Richard) in England, Jason in Toronto, Stephanie in Collingwood, Jamie in Barrie, Tess and Ben at home with Glen and Carrie, as well as his great grandson, Felix. Karl is predeceased by his devoted Mother, Emma Torous, his step-father, Sylvester Torous and his brother-in-law, George Black. Karl will be fondly remembered by his sisters-in law, Margaret Black and Ann Granata (Peter) and his nephew, Heinz Gerhart Besier (Monika), his neice Karla Besier and his five cousins in Germany.

Karl was born on February 25, 1933 in Wiesbaden, Germany. Karl immigrated to Canada with his Mother at the age of eighteen to join his step father in Montreal. Karl tried his hand at a variety of jobs between Montreal and Ontario. Once Karl completed a night school engineering course he was thrilled to land a job with The Northern Electric Company Limited in Montreal. 

Karl met his beautiful wife, Betty at a dance and it was love at first sight. They were married after a short courtship and their first pride and joy was a German Shepherd, named Shep. They were soon to welcome a daughter, Susan into this family and sixteen and a half months later, a son Glen. The family was growing and they moved from a downtown home to the suburbs of Montreal.

When Northern Electric expanded operations and opened offices in Ontario, Karl elected to transfer to the Bramalea office. The family moved to Peel Village in Brampton and shortly welcomed a second son, Kevin into the family. Karl was a devoted husband and father. Karl’s parents followed him to Brampton and the close knit family settled into this new area and prospered.

Karl became a proud Canadian citizen in 1974. The recommendation letter from Karl’s manager at Northern Electric states “ He is honest, industrious and very capable, and will make an excellent citizen of Canada”. Karl’s roots in Wiesbaden would pull him back many times over the years. This fostered a love of travelling for Karl and he felt very fortunate to be able to explore different places in the world.

In 1983 Betty and Karl purchased a cottage on Skeleton Lake in Muskoka. This became a fun-filled gathering spot for the family and many happy memories were made there.  

Grandchildren started arriving in 1984 which further enriched Karl’s life. It was a special joy to Karl that he was able to take some of his grandchildren at the age of twelve to his treasured hometown of Wiesbaden and show them where his life began.  

Karl’s love of travelling prompted him to take an early retirement package in 1985. Wanting to continue to be challenged, Karl decided to become a landlord and the venture of buying, renovating, renting and selling property became a part-time business for he and Betty. This also led to the decision to sell their Peel Village home to concentrate on travelling and use their cottage as a home base for a time.

During those years Karl and Betty enjoyed spending part of their winters in Mexico and travelling with Margaret and George (Betty’s sister and brother-in-law) to places like Venezuela, Spain and Portugal. When they holidayed in Florida they also enjoyed visits with Betty’s sister, Ann and her husband, Peter who live in Naples.  

The last years of Karl’s life was challenged by dementia. The greatest joy for Karl was visits with his family. Karl will always be remembered for his kind and gentle loving nature. May he rest in peace.  

Following cremation, a private family memorial service will take place on Saturday March 12, 2016. Memorial donations in memory of Karl may be made to The Alzheimer Society of Ontario or RVH in Barrie where he received compassionate care.