The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Work hard, play hard.

Keep a smile on your face.

Remember to be kind.

These were words Hal frequently said to his family and he truly lived by them.

Hal Henry Reitmeier went to his heavenly home on November 13, 2021, and will be very missed by anyone who knew him. He had a zest for life and a willingness to be a friend to all.

Hal was born in Tacoma, Washington, on July 7, 1946, to the parents of Harold and Agnes Reitmeier. He lived in Puyallup, Washington on a daffodil farm with his parents, his brother, Doug, and his sister, Sharon. The family moved to Orange, California when Hal was 8. He graduated from Orange High School, then attended the California State University, Long Beach, where he graduated with a master’s degree in civil engineering. He took his first job at Orange County Flood Control. It was on a project in Yorba Linda for the Flood Control that he met his future wife, Deni.

Hal and Deni were married in 1973. In 1977, the family moved to Portland, Oregon and were blessed with three children, Renee, Lisa, and Scott.

Faith, family, and friends were Hal’s treasures. He shared his beautiful faith in many ways. He was a Sunday school teacher and a youth leader with Deni. Later in life, he enjoyed leading impromptu Sunday school lessons with his grandchildren. Hal’s love of learning and his faith were a driving force in starting Pilgrim Lutheran School in Beaverton, Oregon.

Hal worked at Industrial Design Corporation (IDC) in Portland, Oregon for most of his career. His work took him all over the world, to Ireland, Japan, Brazil, India, and finally, Dubai, where Hal and Deni lived in 2003. His love of travel inspired an 80-day trip around the United States with his family in 1991.

Every summer, the family enjoyed trips to Central Oregon. When Hal retired in 2008, Hal and Deni moved to Sisters, Oregon. His retirement from IDC prompted his second career as an entrepreneur. Hal attended Santa Claus school in Denver, Colorado. For the next nine years, Hal spent the holidays as Santa Claus. He spread the Christmas spirit and joy in the Sisters Holiday Parade, at private family gatherings, business parties, and even via Skype.

In 2013, Hal started a longarm quilting business called The Finishing Touch. He quilted hundreds of quilts for local quilters, most of them during the pandemic.

Hal could often be seen outside the Sisters Post Office with a sign in the shape of a coffee cup to promote his daughter Renee’s coffee shop around the corner, Fika Sisters Coffeehouse. Hal could also be seen on his front porch inviting all that passed by for a friendly conversation.

Hal is survived by his sister, Sharon Martinson; his brother-in-law, Paul Martinson; his sister-in-law, Jean Reitmeier; his wife, Denise; three children, Renee Reitmeier of Sisters, Lisa Reitmeier (Timothy Blackburn) of Portland, and Scott Reitmeier (Sara Courtney) of Maplewood, New Jersey; and five grandchildren, Clara and Maeve Blackburn, and Henry, Theodore, and Harriet Parker Reitmeier.

He is predeceased by his parents, Harold and Agnes Reitmeier; and his brother, Doug.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, June 25, at 11:30 a.m., at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bend, Oregon. Donations can be made to the Pilgrim Lutheran Christian School Foundation or Bethlehem Inn homeless shelter in Bend, Oregon.

The family would like to extend its gratitude to the Partners In Care Hospice team, Autumn Funerals of Bend, Oregon, and the community of Sisters.