Posted: 5/21/03

Danny Rieck, 47, loved family, work, life

Cliff Buchan
News Editor

Just last August after an all-night effort in Forest Lake to raise money for American Cancer Society, Danny Rieck jumped on his motorcycle and drove to South Dakota with his daughter, Nikki.

Nikki had always wanted to see Sturgis, SD and the Harley Davidson that Dan Rieck rode was a perfect summer mode of travel.

Several days later after father and daughterís return to their home in Wyoming, dad almost immediately turned the bike west once again with son Trevor on the back.

Such was Danny Rieckís love of life and family, said his wife, Colleen.

Dan Rieck, a partner in Sunrise Fiberglass Corp. in Wyoming, died from pancreatic cancer on Tuesday, May 6, 2003. He was 47.

A full life

Although he died at 47, Colleen Rieck and Barney Rieck, a brother, said Danny Rieck packed much into his 47 years.

Along with family duties and business work, Rieck enjoyed hunting, fishing, motorcycle riding, flying airplanes, golfing and service to his community through the Wyoming Fire Department where he was a captain.

Rieck moved with his family from Nebraska to Minnesota in 1960 and eventually to Wyoming in 1961 He grew up emulating his parents, Chester and Vera, and older brother Barney. Both dad and brother served in the Marine Corps and Danny Rieck followed suit in 1976.

His military stint came two years after his high school graduation in Forest Lake in 1974. He spent a year working in Kentucky and also studied at the University of Minnesota-Crookstan.

ìHe was going to be a cropduster,î his brother said of Dannyís early study. Although he never worked as a cropduster, he did secure his private pilotís license and flew small planes for many years.

Military service was no stranger to the Rieck family. His father was a Marine during World War II with service in the South Pacific; his mother, Vera, was an Army nurse in Europe during W.W. II.

He also followed his brotherís path be enlisting in the Marines in December of 1976. He served four years before leaving as a sergeant on Nov. 30, 1980.

During his military duty, he spent most of his duty at El Toro, CA and also spent a year in the Western Pacific. He was assigned to aircraft maintenance and worked on 311 Tomcats with the Marine 1st Air Wing.

Family, work

A mix of family and military life formed on June 30, 1978 when Danny Rieck married Colleen Coughlin of Wyoming Township. The two had met when they were kids in Wyoming.

ìWe met at the old Hub Drive-In,î Colleen Rieck said.

They lived in California before moving back to Minnesota in 1980 when Rieckís Marine Corps duty came to an end.

Rieck soon joined his father and brother in Sunrise Fiberglass Corp. The two brothers became partners in the firm with their fatherís retirement.

Barney Rieck believes his brotherís personality and skills learned in the military made him an excellent leader for the Sunrise Fiberglass production facility.

ìHe was the hub of the whole production,î Barney Rieck said of his brother. ìEverything revolved around him.î

Danny Rieck learned the business from the ground up and took well to running the production lines, his brother said.

ìThe Marine Corps formed his leadership skills,î Barney said. ìHe was a true leader. He had excellent people skills.î

Those same skills carried over to the fire department where he served 21 years. He was a natural leader as a captain, said his brother, an assistant fire chief in Wyoming.

It was just last summer when the fire department sought volunteers for the all-night Relay for Life in Forest Lake to help the American Cancer Society. Danny Rieck was one of the first to sign up, his brother said.

That was several months before the Wyoming man would learn of his own cancer fight

Colleen Rieck said her husbandís love of family spilled over in times together with the kids, such as the back-to-back trips to Sturgis with the kids.

ìHe loved the ride more than the event,î Colleen Rieck said.

Memorial details

A memorial service for Danny Rieck complete with an honor guard of uniformed fire personnel from area communities, took place Saturday, May 10 at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wyoming.

The service was concluded with the official retirement of Dan Rieckís fire department call number, 4905.

He is survived by his wife, Colleen; children Nikki and Trevor; mother Vera Rieck, Wyoming; brother Barney (Karen) Rieck, Wyoming; sisters Suzanne (Gary) Newsome, Bumpass, VA, and Nikki (Benny) Bailey, Hindman, KY; other relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his father, Chester, in February of this year.

Interment was in Nebraska at the family plot, Ash Hollow Cemetery, Lewellen.

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