Phyllis Nelson Reinheimer, Class of 1944

Phyllis Nelson Reinheimer ’44 died May 3, 2021. She was born in Indianapolis on June 8, 1922 to the late Arthur and Ruth (Rhoderick) Nelson. The family moved to Springfield Ohio where Phyllis made lifelong friends and met her husband the late John Reinheimer. Phyllis attended Otterbein and earned her degree in Elementary Education. She was in the choir and Sigma Alpha Tau (Owls) sorority.

Phyllis taught school while John went to war and upon his return they started their family of 5 kids. Phyllis was a full-time mom and College of Wooster faculty wife for years, additionally balancing activities such as Girl Scouts, PTA, Mothers’ Club, and membership at Zion Lutheran.
Phyllis loved to travel and would hop in a car for ride at the drop of a hat. She was game for adventure willing to move to North Carolina and Germany for a year each – lock, stock and barrel. Three other research leaves from the College of Wooster took them to Santa Barbara and they eventually retired nearby in Carpinteria. While travelling in retirement, Phyllis avidly pursued the family ancestry, researching and visiting sites of importance. Her love of ancestry also led her to learn about computers and she became the first member of the family (at 63) to own and teach herself to use a home computer (Apple IIe). This knowledge led to new volunteer opportunities in retirement including doing taxes for seniors, Meals on Wheels, and working in Westview Gift Shop.
In 1999, Phyllis and John left the beaches of Carpinteria and returned to Wooster to be nearer family. Phyllis spent many enjoyable days in Mothers’ club gatherings, as well as playing cards, mahjong, and dominoes. And if there was nothing planned, she would enjoy visiting or listening to the Indians on the screened-in porch.
Phyllis was preceded in death by her husband, John Reinheimer and daughter, Susie Judd. She is survived by her children and in-laws Al Judd, Ruth (John) Pederson, Joe (Sue) Reinheimer, Sally (Gary) Hofstetter, and Dottie (Brad) Ridenour and her grandchildren Sarah (Archie) McMillan, Ben Judd, Gabe (Suzanne) Judd, Katy (Matt) Galloway, Kirsten (Marc) Anderson, Aaron (Jen) Pederson, Jodi (Steve) Poyer, Kim (Joel) Madsen, Amanda (Eric) Dollaway, Karrin (Kyle) Frezell, April ’03 (Shawn ‘01) Brehob, Kari (Chris) Willis, Sarah (Jared) Hofstetter, Robert Ridenour, Dan (Jeanie) Ridenour, and Kathy Ridenour as well as 31 great-grandchildren and 1 great- great-grandchild.