A Family Funeral Home
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John Carl Reitsma

December 24, 1929 - July 17, 2022
Racine, WI

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Visitation

Wednesday, July 27, 2022
10:00 AM to 11:30 AM CDT
First Presbyterian Church
716 College Ave.
Racine, WI 53403

Service

Wednesday, July 27, 2022
11:30 AM CDT
First Presbyterian Church
716 College Ave.
Racine, WI 53403

Contributions


At the family's request memorial contributions are to be made to those listed below. Please forward payment directly to the memorial of your choice.

First Presbyterian Church
716 College Ave.
Racine, WI 53403

Life Story / Obituary


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John Carl Reitsma was born on December 24, 1929, in Racine, Wisconsin. Every Christmas Eve, John Carl declared that it was his birthday, “along with the other JC.”

John was the second child of John Reitsma, son of Dutch immigrants, and Eleanor Dick, a daughter of Germans. His father worked for Wheary luggage and was instrumental in establishing the Sunday School at the Christian Reformed Church in Racine. After his father died of cancer when John was a teenager, his mother also went to work for Wheary to support John and his brothers, Richard and Ronald. Proud of his heritage, John was fond of saying, “If you ain’t Dutch, you ain’t much.”

John attended Christian Reformed Elementary School through 8th grade and then McKinley Jr. High School. In 1947, he graduated from William Horlick High School where he lettered in basketball, football, baseball, and golf. News clippings from the day document his accomplishments on the court, field, and greens as well as his friendships with teammates, which lasted a lifetime.

After graduating from high school, John proudly served his country in the US Army from 1952-1953 “on Uncle Sam’s Basketball Team in Japan,” as he liked to describe it. When he returned to Racine, John was employed by the Racine Fire Department starting in 1954. Thirty-four years later, he retired as Captain on February 1, 1988. He was a member of Firefighters Local 321, serving for a while on the Executive Board. After retiring, John volunteered at All Saints Hospital emergency room for 20+ years, accumulating more than 5000 hours of service.

John met Patricia Jean Menefee at a friend's wedding where she was pouring coffee. John wasn't drinking coffee that night, but he went back to the table several times. When Patt told John she was from Brooklyn, he supposed he was dating a big-city girl from New York but fell in love with her anyway when he discovered she really meant Brooklyn, Iowa (population: less than 1500). John married Patt on April 20, 1957, at First Presbyterian Church; theirs was the first wedding in the original chapel. Their oldest daughter, Dani, was born in February, 1958, and Mari followed shortly after in January, 1959. Dani has two children, Zoe and Tieg, and Mari has four: Isaac, Jordan, Lukas, and Nathan. Isaac is married to Abigail, and they recently added the first great grandchild to the Reitsma family, a granddaughter named Magnolia.

John loved Racine and remained active in the community his entire life. When he was younger, he enjoyed playing slow pitch baseball, and in 1967, was a member of the Garbo Motors 16-inch slow-pitch baseball team which won the city title. (In a Shoreline Leader article noting that moment in his life, John was described as “quiet, but still the handsome athlete he was in his high school days.”) John was also an avid golfer, enjoying time on the greens with his many golfer friends. In 1976, he proudly achieved a hole-in-one at Johnson’s Park. And although they never owned a boat, he and Patt were members of Harbor Lite yacht Club for many years where they enjoyed Wednesday lunch and Friday dinners with other members.

A member of First Presbyterian Church for more than 65 years, John volunteered for both official and unofficial roles around the church. He served on the session and board of deacons, ushered, planted geraniums, cleaned what needed to be cleaned and painted what needed to be painted, hung banners, and, in his later days, made sure the pencils in the pews were always sharp and the hymnals evenly spaced.

John also enjoyed traveling with Patt. They made regular visits to Florida to visit John's brother Ron and his wife, Barbara. They often visited Nashville, Tennessee, visiting relatives and attending gospel concerts at Opryland. They also spent many summer and fall getaways at Little Bohemia in Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin. They got away for weekends just the two of them or with other couples. And for several years the pair went to Fence Lake for the retiree work week where they cleaned and fixed up the grounds for the regular season.

As much as John enjoyed socializing, he always put his home and family first. Throughout his life, John was known for his beautiful lawn and garden. He was also very creative and liked to stay busy improving and maintaining his home.

John was a wonderful dad and grandfather. He and Patt showed up to their kids’ and grandkids’ school activities, musical performances, and sporting events as often as they could. Their home was always open for business on holidays or any other day of the year just because. Grandkids recall spectacular July 4th fireworks displays on Grandpa’s driveway when they were little, though the adults present knew how very modest and tame the fireworks were given John’s lifelong dedication to fire safety. And of course, the grandkids all have their own particular fond memories: Grandpa scratching their back, joking around with grandma, frosting Christmas cookies, sitting on the floor making stuff with Tinker Toys and Lincoln Logs, playing air guitar with mallets in the middle of croquet games, conjuring a “racehorse” on a border fence with some blankets for a saddle and rope for a bit.

After Patt’s death, John remained active in the community, volunteering weekly at church, participating in monthly breakfasts with other retired firefighters, meeting regularly with friends for coffee, and enjoying weekly lunches with a group of friends from his school days he called “The Italians.”

John kept up with politics, fashion, and news of the day. He had decided opinions on who was fit for the Oval Office, but no one ever heard him quarrel about that. A music lover with widely ranging tastes, he rotated among his many Spotify playlists, from Gospel to Eagles to Jimmy Buffet to Paul Simon. A sharp dresser, John subscribed to GQ magazine until a few years ago, when Bermuda shorts with a matching sports coat and dress shoes worn without socks were beyond his imagination. His interest in fashion was passed along to at least one grandchild who blames his grandfather for his large shoe collection.

John was very open-hearted and generous with his time and attention. Relationships were important to him. He invested in his family and friends and maintained friendships forever. He also kept track of his kids’ friends and grandkids’ friends, even inquiring of people he’d never met but knew were important to someone in his family. An expert on who’s who in Racine, he loved meeting new people around town, asking them about their families, discovering who and what they had in common, and making connections. Whether John knew someone for years through school, the fire station, the hospital, church, the golf course, or the neighborhood–or whether he met them yesterday in the grocery store–he made everyone feel important.

After a brief illness, John died at home on July 17 with his daughters by his side. That morning, he said to them, “Is it Sunday? Sunday seems like a good day to go.” And later that day, he went, at peace with God and on his own terms. He was tired, and he missed Patt. As for the rest of us, we will miss him and long remember his faithfulness, kindness, generosity, humor and warmth.

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