Alma Gramita Obituary

Martin Reineke

Obituaries

Alma Gramita Reinecke

Alma Gramita Reinecke, age 93, died Friday, July 3, 2009 at Sanford Medical Center. Alma was born January 24, 1916 to Peter and Anna (Kirkitsky) Gramita in Dickey County, ND. Her mother died during the Spanish flu epidemic, after giving birth to her sister Ruth, when Alma was three years old. Five older sisters and her father continued their life on the farm. She attended rural school and graduated from Kulm, ND High School in 1933. Her education continued at NSTC in Aberdeen for two years. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree from USD and her Master’s from Augustana College.

While teaching rural schools in McPherson County, SD, Alma met a fellow teacher and her future husband, Martin Reinecke. They were married November 20, 1941 in Moline, IL where both were working in defense plants. Here their first daughter, Mary, was born in 1943. In 1946 the family returned to SD where Martin served as school superintendent in Scenic, Gary and Irene. Their second child, Margaret Ann (Annie), was born in Rapid City in 1948. In 1952 Annie died of leukemia and the family moved to Sioux Falls. Martin and Alma made a special effort to travel to Germany to adopt a child and Hannelore became their daughter in 1953. A son, Max, was born in 1956.

For seventeen years Alma taught elementary, junior and senior high students. She was elected SD Teacher of the Year in 1976. She retired from teaching ninth grade English and Latin at Edison Junior High in Sioux Falls in 1978. Alma was an avid reader with a discerning mind, always reviewing fine literature and films that she could recommend to family and friends. Her interests were widespread including theology, fiction, science, medicine, music and the arts. Also a writer, she had articles and poetry published in professional publications including: Pasque Petals, South Dakota English Notes and the English Journal. She developed a course entitled: "The Bible as Literature".

The Reinecke home was always a welcome place for family and friends where kindness and love were shared in many ways. Church and civic affairs were a part of her regular concerns. She taught Sunday School and served on various boards at Our Savior’s where the family had been members since 1952.

Grateful for having shared her life are her daughters: Mary (Dennis) Potter of Sioux Falls and Hannelore (Thomas) Tweed of Washougal, WA. One son: Dr. Max Reinecke of Sioux Falls, One sister, Ruth (Paul) Koenig of Albuquerque, NM. Four grandsons: Douglas and David Potter, Andrew (Jessica) Tweed and Benjamin (Lauren) Tweed. Three granddaughters: Sarah, Ellen and Claire Reinecke. One great-grandson, Luke Thomas Tweed. Many nieces and nephews also survive, including Margaret Novak, a special niece. Alma was preceded in death by her husband, daughter, parents and five sisters: Clara, Emma, Martha, Carrie and Ann.

Visitation will begin at 2 pm with the family present from 6 to 8 pm and a prayer service at 7:30 pm on Sunday, July 5, 2009, at Miller Funeral Home, 13th & Main. Funeral services will be held Monday, July 6th, at 11:00 am at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church followed by interment at Woodlawn Cemetery. Memorials may be directed to The Banquet or Our Savior’s Lutheran Church Foundation.

Martin Reinecke

. Service will be 2 PM Monday, Oct. 25 at Our Savior's Lutheran Church, with burial at Woodlawn Cemetery, Sioux Falls. Visitation begins 9 AM Sunday, Oct. 24 at Miller Funeral Home, 13th and Main, where the family will greet friends from 7-8 PM. Memorials may be directed to Our Savior's Lutheran Church, the Sioux Valley Optimist Club and the Boy Scouts of
America. George Boom Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Martin Johannes Reinecke, son of Rev. William and Margaret (Blumenschein) Reinecke, was born December 10, 1909 in Massbach, IL. He began his education in the towns where his father served as a Lutheran pastor in northern Iowa and Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He attended the Leola, SD public schools and graduated from Leola High School in 1927. He went on to earn his B.S. and M.A. degrees at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion.

In the early thirties Martin taught four years in rural McPherson County, SD where he met a fellow teacher, Alma Gramita. In 1938 he followed a job opportunity to Moline, IL with John Deere & Co. He and Alma were united in marriage in 1941. The couple was blessed with their first child in Moline in 1943.

In 1946, after WWII, Martin took his family back to South Dakota where he resumed his career in education. He served as superintendent in Scenic for one year, in Gary for two years and in Irene for two years. While in Scenic, the story of the graduation ceremony Martin staged for the lone graduating senior was carried by the Associated Press.

Martin and his family moved to Sioux Falls in 1952 where he taught one year at Emerson Elementary before joining the faculty at Axtell Park, at that time a newly finished junior high school. As a social studies teacher there for twenty-one years, Martin sought to prepare his students to function as good citizens in a democratic society. He was awarded a two-week summer workshop at the Valley Forge Freedom Foundation for his work in preparing adult immigrants and refugees who had come to Sioux Falls to receive their United States Citizenship.

Martin found his recreational outlets in fishing, woodworking and writing. His fishing companions were often some of his Axtell Park students. In his basement workshop, he turned out bookcases, children's furniture and jewelry boxes. His electric typewriter often tapped away into the night hours as Martin worked on stories for his book, The Sled, published in 1999.

In addition to his classroom work, Martin served as president of the Sioux Falls Education Association and the South Dakota Department of Classroom Teachers. He was a life member of both the South Dakota Education Association and the National Education Association. After retirement in 1975, he served as Truant Officer for the public schools. Martin drove for Meals-on-Wheels and was active in other community volunteer work. He was a member of the Elks Club and a charter member of the Sioux Valley Optimist Club. Martin was an active member of Our Savior's Lutheran Church where he was a deacon, lector, Sunday School teacher and sang in the Choir. Martin had a great love for family, church and his country.

Grateful for having shared his life are his wife, Alma; two daughters, Mary Potter and her husband, Dennis, Grand Forks, ND, Hannelore Tweed and her husband, Rev. Thomas, Washougal, WA; one son, Dr. Max W. Reinecke, Sioux Falls, SD; four grandsons, Douglas and David Potter, Andrew and Benjamin Tweed; three granddaughters, Sarah, Ellen and Claire Reinecke; one sister, Erna Gray, New Baltimore, MI; many nieces and nephews, including Margaret Novak, Sioux Falls, SD; and a host of other relatives and friends.

Martin was preceded in death by one daughter, Annie; his parents; four sisters, Louisa, Johanna, Clara, Hattie; and two brothers, Ewald, Erwin.