Prayers for the soul of Karl Reich+ (1922-2009)

Your payers are requested for the soul of the Revd. Karl Reich, 87, who died Mon. Aug. 31, 2009 in Portland, Ore.

Fr. Reich was the Vicar of St. Stephen’s from 1965-1969.

An obituary follows:

The Reverend Karl Frederick Reich

(August 26, 1922-August 31, 2009)

The Reverend Karl Frederick Reich died peacefully at home, on S.E. Nehalem near 42nd, on Monday, August 31, at the age of 87.

Karl was born in Chicago, Illinois on August 26, 1922, the oldest child and only son of Dorothy Marzahn Reich and Walter Reich. He grew up in Melbourne, Florida. After serving as a Second Lieutenant in the Army in World War II, he graduated from Clemson College in South Carolina in 1947, earning a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. A few years later he took a job as a research chemist at the W.C. Hardesty Co in New Philadelphia, Ohio. Since he had always been involved in church activities, he sought out Trinity Episcopal Church. There he met his future wife, Dorothy Ann McCullough. They married on October 21, 1950, and were together for 45 years until Dorothy’s death in 1996. Shortly after the birth of their second child, Karl began considering a call to the ministry in the Episcopal Church. He graduated with a degree of Master of Divinity from Bexley Hall, the Divinity School of Kenyon College at Gambier, Ohio in 1957. He was ordained Deacon on May 30, 1957 and was sent to Trinity Church in Bryan, Ohio. Karl was ordained Priest on December 8, 1957. The family moved to North Dakota in 1961; in Langdon he was vicar at Church of Our Savior and also at St. Peter’s, Walhalla. Karl also served at St Stephen’s in Fargo and St John’s in Dickinson. Part of his ministry included leading groups of teenagers on canoe trips in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area of northern Minnesota for nine summers. The year 1974 saw the family moving to Houston, Texas, to join Dorothy’s sister and brother-in-law in running the Episcopal Book Store. Karl also became part-time assistant at St Stephen’s Episcopal Church.

By 1978, Karl and Dorothy moved to the Pacific Northwest where they lived out the remainder of their lives enjoying the splendor of the area and the friendly people. Karl continued serving the Episcopal Church by becoming an interim Priest at various parishes around the Diocese of Oregon. These parishes included Christ Church - St. Helens, St John the Evangelist - Milwaukie, Epiphany - Lake Oswego, and St Philip the Deacon - Portland. He truly enjoyed working with the parishes and remembered them fondly in his last years. Karl had many interests including inkle weaving, brewing beer, woodworking, camping and b ooks. After retiring, he spent many wonderful years volunteering at The Title Wave, the bookstore for Multnomah County Library. He enjoyed reading many types of books and discussing them with friends.

Karl is survived by his two sisters, Marya and Suzanne; his children, Suzanne, John, David, and Jane; and four grandchildren.

A memorial service was held on Wednesday, September 23rd, at St John the Evangelist Episcopal Church in Milwaukie.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St John the Evangelist Episcopal Church; the Feed the Hungry Program at St John the Evangelist Episcopal Church; Christ Church, St Helens; or the ALS Association.