Roger A. Reinke

Roger A Reinke, of Arvada, Colorado, passed away Friday February 19, 2021 at the age of 79. He was preceded in death by his parents, Harold and Elaine Reinke, and his wife Ruth J Reinke. He is survived by his two daughters, Traci Lafferty (Cannon) and Amber Goodrich; his eight siblings, Mary Segebart, Vergene Wallace, Karen Riesselman (David), Helen Avitt (Darrel), Duane Reinke (Judy), Donna Campbell (Allen), Dale “Ernie” Reinke (Karen), and Diane Kendrick (Greg); his three grandchildren, Brett Reinke, Logan Goodrich, and Lily Goodrich; along with many nieces and nephews. Roger was born and grew up in Manning, Iowa, graduating from Manning High School in 1959. He worked various jobs including working with his father Harold at their salvage yard. He joined the Army in 1963 and did one tour in Vietnam. After being honorably discharged in 1965, he relocated to Colorado where he worked at a ranch in Lakewood breaking horses. He then took a job at Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad in 1966 where he made his career of 35 years and retired in 2001. Roger met his wife Ruth in 1967 while living in Lakewood and they married in 1969. In 1974, they bought their first and only home in Arvada, Colorado where they raised their two daughters. Roger and Ruth were married for 42 years before Ruth passed away in 2011. Roger was a family man through and through. His “girls” and his grandkids were always his priority and he would do everything he could to take care of them and loved to tell everyone about them. Roger loved spending time with his family and friends. Camping, fishing, biking, playing softball, playing pool, bowling, listening to music, supporting his Denver Broncos, and hanging out in his garage fixing cars or building things. Roger was blessed with many talents and was truly a jack of all trades. There wasn’t anything he couldn’t fix or make by hand, or anything he couldn’t do when he set his mind to it. He was an excellent craftsman of leather goods, a tailor, a fantastic wood worker, welder, and artist. He made amazing wood and leather pieces that his family and friends will continue to treasure for years to come. Roger had a love for trains that started when he was a young boy. Not only did he work on real, full size trains, he always had an HO scale model train set up in his home and loved to build and add onto it. Roger was also a collector of many things. He had an eye for the unique and loved spending time bartering and searching for things to add to his collections. Roger always had a passion for cars and motorcycles and when he wasn’t working on a hot rod or an everyday driver, he was collecting and customizing Hot Wheels cars. In his later years he loved cruising around town on his custom Harley Davidson trike, wearing bright neon colors, and making heads turn with or without his signature top hat. Roger was an amazing man who lived life to the fullest. He was a fierce protector of his family and friends. He was a jokester who loved playing pranks on everyone. He had the greatest sense of humor and a gruff laugh that was contagious. Roger was the best storyteller and would spend hours telling tales filled with silly sayings to anyone and everyone who would listen. He was a Vietnam veteran who loved his country and wore his veteran patches, pins, and flags proudly. Roger was the rock for his family, friends, and neighbors. There wasn’t much, if anything, he wouldn’t do for another person. Whether you knew him by Roger, Bubba, Rog, Railroad Roger, or Motorcycle Roger, he was a true gift to everyone he knew. He was a force of nature and a legend in his own right. He touched countless lives in his 79 years. Roger is loved beyond measure and will be missed terribly by all who knew him. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, a private, invite only service will be held at Fort Logan National Cemetery on Friday, June 11, 2021 at 2:15 pm. The service will be live streamed for those who are not able to attend in person. You may view the live stream at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWLHVe5ZDYXRx6oayin2-iQ . The family thanks everyone for their understanding during these unique and difficult circumstances. There will be a Celebration of Life open house (backyard) on Saturday, June 12, 2021 starting at 1 pm at the Reinke family home in Arvada, CO. Friends and family are welcome to come and share memories, pay respects, and to celebrate Roger’s life. Please wear neon colors in memory of Roger. There will also be a motorcycle ride in memory of Roger on Saturday, June 12, 2021 starting at 11 am. The ride will start at the parking lot across from Lawrence Elementary on the corner of Grandview Avenue and Allison Street in Arvada. It will go to a couple of Roger’s favorite hang out spots and then end at the Hackberry Hill Elementary School parking lot where everyone will be able to walk to the Reinke home for the open house around 1 pm. If you need more specific information on the open house or motorcycle ride, flyers will be available at the Rambling Rose (Wheatridge, CO) and Jakes Roadhouse (Arvada, CO). You can also email the family at the email address listed below. The family will be putting together a slideshow of memories and photos that will be on display at the open house and later posted online. If you would like to share a memory or photos, please email them to the address below. By submitting them, you are giving permission to the family to use and share them. If you only want to share them with the family, please specify that when you submit them. Please send all requests for information, stories, and photos to rogerreinke1@gmail.com