Leo Reinbold

Leo M. Reinbold was born March 24, 1933. He died February 11, 2010. In between he gave us all a lot to be thankful for. A funeral mass will be held on Tuesday at 10:30 AM at Church of Corpus Christi, 1919 North 2nd Street, Bismarck, with Rev. Paul Becker officiating. Burial will be at the ND Veteran’s Cemetery with military honors provided by Amvets Post #9. Visitation will be Monday from 1:00 – 9:00 PM at Parkway Funeral Service, 2330 Tyler Parkway, Bismarck, where a Knights of Columbus rosary will be held at 6:30 PM followed by a parish vigil service at 7:00 PM. Visitation will continue on Tuesday one hour prior to the service at the church. Leo was born in Glen Ullin to Simon and Elizabeth Kaip Reinbold. He learned the value of hard work even as a young boy working in the family coal mine. At the age of ten, his father was killed in a mining accident and the family moved to Hebron. Leo was an exceptional athlete, quarterbacking the Hebron six-man football squad to championship seasons as a junior and senior and he was champion of three sprint events at the state track meet. Leo represented his hometown at Boy’s State and North Dakota at Boy’s Nation in 1950. He went on to play football and run track at Dickinson State. He served in the US Army in 1952-53. He graduated from Dickinson in 1957. While at Dickinson he met Rose, the love of his life, and they were married at Glendive, MT, on June 14, 1958. Leo was a teacher; first at Killdeer then at Scobey, MT, where Leo and Rose’s three children were born. He earned his master’s degree from UND and in 1962 moved the family to Valley City where he was Professor of Geography and Geology and Chairman of the Geography Department. He pursued studies toward his PhD at Penn State in 1967-68. Leo was an active public servant, serving as a City Commissioner in Valley City 1972-80 and as a North Dakota Public Service Commissioner 1981-2002. While on the PSC, he became a nationally recognized leader in several areas and was Chairman of the Gas Research Institute GRI. As active as he was in public service, Leo was even better known for his work as a speaker. Leo’s motivational speeches, positive attitude and humor were known throughout the USA. No one knew more stories and no one ever told them any better than Leo Reinbold. Leo will perhaps best be remembered by those who knew him well as a man of exceptional strength of character. He was a devoted husband to Rose for over 50 years. He was a firm, patient and loving father. He was a reliable and true friend. Leo was a man who knew what mattered in life and he lived it! Leo was involved in many organizations. So many, he might in his humorous way characterize it as an “alphabet soup of groups”. He was devoted to his Catholic faith and was active in the Lions Club, going back even to the time when he was a boy in Hebron. He is survived by his wife, Rose; sons Brian and Russ Cindy; daughter, Mary Jean Bernie Newcomer; sisters, Lena Leo Schafer, Agnes Clarence Kitzan, and Irene Del Reidlinger; brothers, John, Joe Donna, and Roger LaVerne; twelve grandchildren, Matthew, Jennifer, John, Laura, Maria and Marcella Reinbold, all of Bismarck, Megan, Claire, Michael and Scott Reinbold of Plymouth, MN, and Katie and Jack Newcomer of Escondido, CA; and many cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends. He was preceded in death by his father, Simon; mother, Elizabeth; brother, Sam; infant brother; infant daughter; and infant granddaughter. The family prefers memorials to the American Parkinson’s Disease Foundation and the Lions Foundation.

Leo Reinbold

March 24, 1933 - February 11, 2010