JAMES (JIM) REICHE

June 1, 2025

James (Jim) Reiche died peacefully in Kincardine, June 1, 2025, at the age of 78. Married in Zion Lutheran Church in Pembroke (the same place where he was baptized), to his beloved wife, Selma, for 56 years. His daughter, Natasha, was born in 1980. Also left to mourn, are Natasha’s husband, Andrew Mason, grandson, Ben, and granddaughter, Brooke, of Orangeville; sister, Dawn, of London; and brother, Luke (Debra), of Sudbury. He was the son of Rachel and Morris Reiche of Chalk River. Dad started work on an apprenticeship at the Chalk River Nuclear Power Plant. He eventually became a senior control tech in the computer department at Ontario Hydro in Kincardine. He was one of the many tech people on the project when the first computer was installed at Ontario Hydro. He was well-liked at work. I knew this because when I worked there for a few summers and wore the hardhat with REICHE walking around the plant, people would stop me and ask if I was Jim Reiche’s daughter. They would then have something nice to say about him. I always enjoyed this very much. Dad really valued his many friends who would still come and visit him. Dad possessed a most gentle nature, with a strong determination of optimism that carried him through 42 years of MS, losing mobility, and most-recently eyesight loss. He always made everything look easy when we knew life was often a big struggle. According to him, he says he had a great life! He was liked by everyone and this was, undoubtedly, because he, himself, liked everyone. He was approachable, funny and kind and had a way of touching people, remembering what was going on in their lives and always remembering to ask about it. He was always up for a good conversation or political debate while respecting others’ views. He was smart beyond the formal education he received; he was the guy we went to for answers on anything in life ... history, math, world issues. Dad always chose to find the good in people even when they were acting poorly. You could not press him to say something negative about someone. Instead, he would flip the script with a ‘but remember the time they did this good thing’… even if it was only one good thing, that was the part that he focused on. It was very admirable and stemmed from his deep religious beliefs. He was also cautious and beyond humble. The most agitated he’d get was when I would tell him how amazing he was. I often did it on purpose just to get him riled up. We had a great relationship and I can truly say he was one of my favourite people. I loved to tease him and get his goat/make him laugh whenever I could. He was cautious and I lived on high speed. He was on time or early and I was rushing in at the last minute. Dad was never complaining and I was the squeaky wheel advocating for him. He always thought I bit off more than I could chew in pretty much every aspect of life … but then he realized I was chewing it just fine and started just shaking his head, laughing at me. The cautious advice didn’t stop, though. He was Mr. ‘save money for a rainy day’ and I agreed with him on that one. He knew at least something had sunk in with me. I liked to think I kept his blood pumping and kept him young. Truth is, lots sunk in. I was very proud to be his daughter and enjoyed my time with him very much. I knew he was proud of me, too. He was always fascinated with all the ‘complicated stuff’ I could learn and loved hearing about all of my life’s adventures. Ben and Brooke filled Mom and Dad’s house with lots of noise and much joy. They were so loud in the house just being kids, but he never complained. He loved to watch Ben rip apart the basement looking for antiques or making random things in Dad’s workshop. Later, he admired Ben’s ability to fix old equipment around the house and always supported that hobby. Brooke was his little darling. He loved her happy smile and conversation she carried on with him, and loved to poke her in the ribs to make her laugh. He would always ask me in advance of get-togethers what the kids were into so he would be able to chat with them. He was a very quality Pappa. Dad was not able to physically do a lot but had a big presence. He taught Mom how to do so many handy jobs around the house. Mom would be on the floor/on the ladder/in the garage when he could not physically get there anymore while he sat beside her and instructed her with what to do. She became very handy from his teachings! He also never turned the kids down when they would wanted to play Monopoly. Armed with a rum-and-coke in his hand he sat there for hours on end. He always seemed to be the one to land on Chance or go to jail in the first few rounds, collecting no properties. This would inevitably set him up to be dominated by Ben which, of course, never bothered him a bit. He was no pushover though. He drove a hard bargain trading property with all of us. 31, euchre, Jenga, painting or any other game, he always said yes. He could barely see, yet was always up to spend time in the ways he could. Dad truly valued his many lovely caregivers and appreciated all their hard work. The past two years of his life were spent at Tiverton Park Manor where the staff made every effort possible to make him comfortable and happy in that beautiful home. He would say if you had to go to a retirement home, this was the place to be! He never complained and never wanted to bother anyone. When I would walk through the home, the nurses and PSWs always commented to me on how much they adored Dad. We had time to talk in the months before he passed, knowing this day was coming. I enjoyed getting his goat, telling him how I was going to say all sorts of nice things about him when he passed. He’d wave his arms all around ‘nooo nooo’ … he never wanted anything nice said about him. He did have a request of me, though. Instead of talking about him, he wanted me to make sure I talked about his greatest friend, love of his life and supporter whom he appreciated beyond measure. I went ahead and rewrote this obituary without Mom knowing, to honour both Dad and Mom (as per Dad’s request). Dad knew Mom was the right one for him very quickly. She was a spunky, go-getter and a school teacher. She had five brothers who welcomed him right away as did her parents. They built a beautiful life together full of ups and downs but always stuck together. Mom did much of the manual labour as Dad weakened and Dad provided for the family working all the way until retirement even when he felt poorly. Dad wanted to thank Mom from the bottom of his heart for spending a very large portion of her life caring for him in various emotionally- and physically-demanding ways for much much longer than most people would have. He knew it was all in a selfless act of love to keep him enjoying living at home, enjoying sunsets and enjoying sitting in the south-facing garage listening to music for as long as possible. He loved her very much. Even after he moved to Tiverton two years ago, she was often visiting and bringing him home to visit. He was extremely thankful for her dedication as a loving wife. Since Dad was a very religious man and through the way he lived his life, we know the gates of Heaven will fly open for him, upon arrival. He was at peace with the end and had ‘a great life!’ We will host a ‘Gathering of friends and family to honour the life of Jim Reiche,’ Saturday, June 28, 2025, at the Davey-Linklater Funeral home in Kincardine. A short service will start at 1 p.m. and we will hang out and have treats afterwards. As expressions of sympathy, donations to a charity of your choice would be appreciated by the family. Donations and condolences may be made on-line at www.daveylinklaterfuneralhome.com.