With profound sadness we announce the passing of Phil and Beverly, our loving and devoted parents, friends and to all whose lives they touched.
Phil (L.P.) Reinig, business entrepreneur, fly fisherman, avid downhill skier, magnificent dancer, patriot, accomplished traveler, voracious reader, devoted husband and father died on Saturday, July 31st, 2021. Beverly Reinig devoted wife, mother, artist, animal lover and gifted gardener died Tuesday, August 10th, 2021.
The women in Bev and Phil’s lives were special and cherished. Phil married the love of his life, Beverly, also an avid fly fisherman, biggest fan and homemaker with whom they had six children and celebrated 73+ years of marriage. They loved their mother’s, Mamie Reinig (deceased), Rose Lyman (deceased) and their four daughters, Kathleen, Carol, Sheila and Mary Ann. Phil had a loving kinship with his younger sister, Maribeth for which he took pride in her gifted singing voice. Bev’s two sisters, Helen and Lois (deceased) were bonded in family love. There were multiple nieces and nephews for which they had a fond affection.
They also had strong relationships with the men in their lives. His father, Harry (deceased) was his mentor and lover of fly fishing, ranching and the great outdoors. Her father, George Lyman (deceased) mirrored a mutual adoration and affection. His brother, Harry was his best friend, now deceased and no doubt, the three of them are re-united in the heavenly creeks and rivers vying to catch the biggest rainbow trout. Their two sons, Mike who has the same love for ranching, hunting and fishing and Dennis who embodied his father’s intellect and passion for knowledge along with his mother’s faith and compassion. Their son-in-law, Bill was a trusted friend and business advisor with a zest for the great outdoors. Their son-in-law, Gene whom they fostered their deep faith to through their love of the Catholic Church.
They took extreme pride in their six grandchildren (Aaron, Colleen, Tracy, Jenny, Kari and Jackie) and eight great grandchildren (Rhett, Will, Addy, Ella, Reese, Sophia, Jake and Adam) for whom they would encourage the value of education, doing your life in order and enjoy life the way they did with such bravado.
As a Gonzaga University educated electrical engineer, Phil climbed the ladder of success with his first employer out of college, General Electric (GE), subsequently, running the Engineering Department at Los Alamos National Laboratory. His entrepreneur spirit inspired him to start Los Alamos Technological Associates which he ran successfully for over 44 years.
Bev was a wonderful, devoted mother and grandmother. She doted on her family and was happiest when her large brood surrounded her. She hosted large Sunday dinners often preparing her husband’s favorite, fried chicken, potato salad, Van Camp’s pork and beans and brownies with ice cream.
Phil and Bev were sourcing the best fly fishing holes their entire lives. New Mexico, Montana, Washington, Colorado, Chili, Russia and Alaska before they created their very own rainbow trout ponds on their beloved B-Y Ranch in Belgrade, Montana that they found their greatest joy in living. Phil was known to create and tie his signature flies, procuring some of the greatest catches with his own creations. Bev was known for catching the largest “lunkers” which was a comedic contest for the biggest catch between them.
Phil took pride in his service during World War II, serving the rank of private in the Army. He was a true patriot and proud of his service.
Because of their love for family gatherings and celebration, a joint funeral will be held at St. Anne’s Catholic Church with a memorial service to follow at the Santa Fe National Cemetery with a well deserved 21-gun salute in Phil’s honor.
Flowers can be sent to Rivera’s Funeral Home 417 Rodeo Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505. The family asks that you make a donation to the Salvation Army in your area. They had a special appreciation for the Salvation Army for their exceptional care for the GI’s during WWII.
The family would also like to thank the staff at Ambercare Hospice and Elite Caregivers who took extraordinary care of our parents in their final days.
Finally, the family asks that in honor of Phil and Bev, that you write your favorite memory of them on the Rivera Funeral Home website. This can be found when you access their joint obituary on the site.
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About |
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| Name | Beverly Reinig |
| Date of Birth | October 20th, 1926 |
| Date of Death | August 10th, 2021 |
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Memorial |
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| Funeral Home | Rivera Family Funeral Home - Santa Fe | |
| Address |
417 Rodeo Road Santa Fe NM 87505 United States |
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published a tribute .
I first met Phil at a restaurant in Fairfax, VA in the autumn of 1990. He had a notion that a 'peace dividend' would emerge from the collapse of the USSR and that LANL and the DOE complex generally would be doing more environmental work -- cleaning the legacy contamination left from WWII and the cold war. He had hired one of the top managers in the Remedial Investigation Feasibility Studies (related to the Superfund) business to assemble a staff. That man recruited me and two others. Having two young children I was reluctant to leave the excellent school system of Northern VA but when I learned that Los Alamos was one of the locations possible, my wife and I changed our minds. So the meeting at the restaurant was the final 'interview'. In later years I had the chance to remind Phil that he had had three legitimate opportunities to fire me for temerity. That meeting was one of them -- I asked for a larger starting salary; to my astonishment he agreed.
After my family had moved to Los Alamos in June 1991 and I was working furiously at LATA on the very type of projects he had envisioned coming out of LANL and DOE, Phil was considering me for the technical management of a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) project involving development of an electrolytic generator of a solution thought to contain ozone. So the second opportunity to get fired was when I had -- as diplomatically as I could manage -- insisted that it did not contain ozone (it doesn't).
Then to add further insult, when Phil took me to lunch at the Pajarito Ski Hill restaurant to discuss the SBIR project and insisted that we had to 'characterize' the solution, I replied 'With all due respect, we don't' (as a chemist, in my judgement such 'characterization' was beyond current technology and would likely not be doable for several years to decades -- correct again), What we had to do, I said, was make a product using the technology that would work reliably and disinfect water; if we did that researchers would come out of the woodwork to try to find out what was in the solution (about a half-dozen MS and PhD theses have been written on the solution). After two successful SBIRs with me as technical manager and Mike Robson as contract manager, in 1994 Phil spun off the MIOX Corporation of Albuquerque with Mike as its president and me as Chief Scientist, Product Development. (MIOX has since been acquired and I am retired, but I am still listed at Chief Scientist, Emeritus and continue to consult with the company).
At the 10th anniversary-of-MIOX party in 2004, i reminded Phil of these opportunities to fire me and that I was grateful that he had not. His reply: "Just lucky I guess".
I addition to these personal anecdotes of Phil's sense of humor, management of and trust in people (even hot-heads like me), Phil was enormously generous to his employees through 401(k) plan contributions and an employee savings plan. As a LATA employee I was able to cement a solid retirement. We will always be grateful for his generosity. The world is a sadder place without him and Bev.
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published a tribute .
Phil was my boss, mentor, and a great friend! He was a true patriot and a great businessman/entrepreneur. I could never thank him enough for the encouragement and opportunities he gave to me while I was with LATA. I would come to him with a business idea and he would tell me "I'll hold your hat" which meant go do it. No matter how much the company had grown he was never quite satisfied telling us "with another inch ounce of torque" we could have done even better. As he aged and was troubled by some issue or person he would say "I can't see or hear as well as I did, but I can still smell a pile of shit a mile away".
Phil loved his family deeply, always so proud of Beverly, his 6 children and grandchildren. He also deeply loved his church, his faith was inspiring. His love of fishing was a passion he indulged in whenever he could. As a skier, he was amazing and we would joke that he would ski on wet grass if given the chance.
Farewell Phil and Bev, now reunited in heaven. Lives well lived!!!
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published a tribute .
Memories of Phil and Bev will always bring a smile to my face. I can't help smiling when I think of Phil talking about cleaning and renewing the streams running through the Montana ranch and stocking them with happy, healthy trout, only to watch the eagles fish them out before he could! I also smile when I remember how much Bev enjoyed storytelling and sharing the bounty from her fishing adventures. These are only a couple of the many memories I will cherish. Phil and Bev were together in life and remain together forever.
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published a tribute .
Thinking of special memories of my Dear Aunt Beverly-
I remember when Aunt Bev had a story to share and she would gently touch my wrist and say
“oh Cathy” and share a special story and giggle with that twinkle in her eye.
I remember her vegetable garden in Los Alamos, her beautiful Roses in Santa Fe, her exquisite taste in clothing and decorating and of course her beautiful sparkling jewelry. It was a thrill to shop with Bev!
Mostly I remember how she loved and cherished her Children, Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren.
I will miss you Aunt Bev❤️
Love Always,
Cathy
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published a tribute .
In spite of the large family that Carol has, it always seemed like her mother was in a time bubble, peaceful and relaxed often sitting in her favorite chair in the den. She never let the responsibilities of raising a large family get in the way of making me always feel special. She often remarked on what I was wearing and of course what teenage girl wouldn’t just love to hear comments about her appearance. We often chatted briefly but we were usually at the beginning of a fun afternoon or an evening with friends. I sometimes wonder that if I’d been able to spend more time with her, how interesting it would have been. She knew about so many subjects. She loved film and the movies and from the glimpses of conversation we had I know she not only a warm heart but a brilliant and inquisitive mind. One particular instance comes to mind in my conversations with this remarkable woman : I had just seen Gone With the Wind, truly a milestone in anyone’s young life. I mentioned this to her, her eyes lit up as she discoursed on not only the stars and the costars, but much about their lives and their histories and other movies they played in. I perhaps wasn't aware of it then but I certainly am now, that this remarkable woman raised a family of amazing young people, and still pursued and nurtured her own passions.
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published a tribute .
Dear friends,
I’m broken hearted reading this today, but they weren’t seapated for long, and for that, I’m grateful. They were always so gracious - Bev the elegant matriarch, and Phil, the distinguished businessman who always had time to stop & chat whenever I saw him. May they rest in eternal peace, and may your family find some measure of comfort in their wonderful legacy, of which you are all a part.
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published a tribute .
LATA and it's spinoffs were/are an entrepreneurial oasis in Los Alamos and the Los Alamos Community. Phil did well. He left the world better than he found it.
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published a tribute .
I have very fond memories of Mr. And Mrs. Reinig ( I will always think of them that way rather than first names because of thr respect I have for them)
Mrs. Reinig was such a gracious hostess when the hords of us girls descended upon the Reinig household
For our various celebrations in high-school.
My most recent memory of them was of a delightful lunch at their country club a few years ago with Carol and Dorcas. Mr. And Mrs. Reinig were both very entertaining and remembered all sorts of fun things.
They were part of a generation that we sorely miss for many reasons. They left a legacy of a beautiful family.
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published a tribute .
When I think of my Aunt Bev- I think of an amazingly beautiful lady, who always had beautiful jewelry!! I loved looking at her “jewels”. And even today, I love jewelry too. Maybe it was her influence that got me liking pretty things!
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published a tribute .
Dear Mom of mine - I will love you and miss you forever.
Your loving daughter,
Carol
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published a tribute .
Dear Kathleen, Carol, Sheila, Mary Ann, Mike, Dennis, and family,
Your parents were lovely couple and my heart hurts for all of you. I have so many fond memories of your parents when you lived in Richland WA. Your Mom was always fussing with her flowers in her pretty garden. She was such a beautiful, classy lady always dressed like she was going to a party and then I would see her in the garden. Your Dad was always taking the family boating on the Columbia River and vacations to Montana. They were such a lovely couple and will be missed by many. I am sure they left lasting memories with family and friend to reminisce about.
God Bless all of you.
Cathy Burnet Poynor
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