Wilbert L. Rieseck

Wilbert Louis Rieseck, or "Riecks" to his friends, passed Tuesday night, April 17, 2018. 

He was born Sept. 10, 1921, on the North Side.  He lived next door to his cousins, Chuck and Stella Zoller, growing up on East Street.  He graduated from Carnegie Institute of Technology, class of 1942, as a principal engineer on the accelerated engineering program, so that he could serve in World War II. He served as a lieutenant in the Army Engineer Corps from 1942 to 1945, trained in Tennessee, deployed to England, then France, where he had several assignments, from carrying supplies to the front lines to managing a supply depot and a POW camp.  He returned home to Pittsburgh in 1945.  While visiting a friend, he met Meri E. Turner, of Laurel Gardens.  They married in 1953 and square danced their way through 65 years of marriage.  During those years, he worked as an HVAC chemical engineer in several engineering offices, including Blawnox and Dravo, and later worked for himself.  After several tries, he retired in 1989, and they moved from the North Hills to Butler.

He is survived by their five children, Marla K. McQuiston, David W. Rieseck, Sandi J. White, Carol L. Briggs and Joanne L. Shelly; and seven grandchildren: Mallory, Hunter, Lexi, Conor, Kelvin, Gavin and Justin.

His legacy will include teaching them to sail, ride bikes, play ping-pong, manage their finances and ensuring they each had a college education.  They lived a life based in their Christian faith, most recently attending St. Luke Lutheran Church, Cabot.

A service will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 21, at St. Luke Lutheran Church, 330 Hannahstown Road, Cabot, PA 16023, followed by a small reception at Concordia, Haven 3, 160 Marwood Road, Cabot, PA 16023, their home for  the last 12 years.

Cards and flowers can be directed to the St. Luke Lutheran Church.  Contributions can be made to the Concordia Ministries or to Special Olympics.

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