Wardine Riecks

Wardine Riecks lived a full, fruitful, and loving life of more than 89 years, leaving a husband, five children, twelve grandchildren, and three great grandchildren who remember her generosity, kindness, and love for life. She and twin brother Warden were born in Clarinda, Iowa, in 1930, to Dr. George Rimel and Edna Rimel of Bedford , Iowa. She and Warden grew up in Bedford with their older brother James and sisters Doris and Joyce. The Rimel children were all encouraged to pursue education and broadening activities such as music. All five children played musical instruments; Wardine played the clarinet in high school, including marching band.

 

Wardine received a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Iowa, where she met the love of her life, Richard Clarence (Dick) Riecks. A favorite story of both Dick and Wardine is how they met, which involved a fortuitous alphabetical seating arrangement in a college class, and the continual absence of the one student who would have been seated between them. With nothing in their way, love and kinship ensued; they were wed on August 31, 1952, and their adventure together began. Dick was commissioned in the US Air Force, and Wardine worked hard to both support his career and create a family. Air Force duty stations included France and Turkey, providing numerous wonderful opportunities to travel to phenomenal historical and cultural sights in Europe and the Middle East. As the family grew, Dick and Wardine took the children on many of these trips, notably Athens, Istanbul, and the Holy Lands of the Middle East. When state-side, the close-knit family relished opportunities to attend regular family reunions back in Bedford or Des Moines, Iowa. Inheriting the love of family and kinship, the large extended family of cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. descending from George and Edna continue to be remarkably close. Wardine's love of family was and remains the glue that has kept her own descendants close to each other. After various career-driven travels, all five adult children and most of their children currently live within about an hour or less from the Denver area.

 

Altogether, the military family lived in Mobile Alabama, Laon France, Dayton Ohio, in and near Izmir Turkey, Warner Robins Georgia, and finally Aurora Colorado, where Dick retired as a Lieutenant Colonel (but continued another 20 years as a civil servant), and where Wardine lived her final 49 years. Later in life, Dick and Wardine were fond of cruise ship adventures. In over 67 years of marriage, these travels were like recurring honeymoons.Wardine was a member of Faith Presbyterian Church, The Red Hat Society, Women's Bible Study, the Barbie Club, and the Care and Share Club.

 

She particularly enjoyed collecting and decorating her home with dolls, figurines, and an eclectic variety of marble and stone items from around the world-or just from local garage sales, which she thoroughly enjoyed seeking out. Shopping for nice clothes, jewelry, and anything pretty was a real passion. An avid seamstress for much of her life, Wardine enjoyed economizing by making clothes for her young children, and later applied her craft to dressing porcelain dolls.

 

Throughout her life, Wardine was a woman of deep faith, and it was her faith which sustained her and enabled her to get through pain, illness, and the trials of life.

 

 

Wardine is survived by her husband Dick, brothers James and Warden, sister Joyce, children Becky (Dana), Rick (Sue), Bruce, Steve (Holly), and Deborah (Jonathan), grandchildren Stephanie, Alex, Matt, Dan, Elizabeth, Mickie, Mary, Danielle, Megan, Madie, Olivia, and Benjamin, plus great grandchildren Becca, Logan, and Liz. She is preceded in death by her parents and her sister Doris

Funeral Service: October 28, 2019 11:00 am

Faith Presbyterian Church
11373 E. Alameda Ave.
Aurora, CO 80012
303-364-7271

Reception: October 28, 2019 12:00 pm

Faith Presbyterian Church
11373 E. Alameda Ave.
Aurora, CO 80012
303-364-7271

Graveside Service: November 4, 2019 2:00 pm

Fort Logan National Cemetery
3698 South Sheridan Boulevard
Denver, CO 80236
(303) 761-0117
https://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/ftlogan.asp