William Frederick Reich, III
November 12, 2018
William Frederick Reich III, age 84, of Alachua, FL, formerly of Miami, passed away on November 12, 2018. Bill was born on May 13, 1934, in New Rochelle, NY and was the son of the late William Frederick Reich Jr. and Lucy Daughty Reich of Boca Raton, Fl. Bill attended Miami-Dade Community College and the University of Miami. In 1957, he was drafted into the Army and served as a military policeman to include a year in South Korea. When asked what he did during his deployment, he said that he road shotgun on trains to protect them from hijacking and busted soldiers wearing white socks. Shortly after being discharged, he returned to civilian life working for Union Carbide in New York City as a salesman. In 1960, he met the love of his life, Delphine (Dell) Marden of Fairfield, CT and after a short courtship were married in July 1960. They spent their honeymoon in Key Biscayne, Fl and had to evacuate to Miami Beach due to Hurricane Donna. Bill hated cold weather and he and Dell later lived in Palo Alto, Ca, Miami, Fl and Land’O Lakes, Fl. After moving to Florida he spent most of the remainder of his career for with two organizations: GAC Corp (later called Avatar) as a Manager and the State of Florida in the Department of Professional Regulation as an Investigator. He retired in 1999 and shortly thereafter moved with his beloved wife to Alachua, Fl.
Bill was known to his family as a devoted husband and the world’s best Dad. A hands on Dad, he supported his three children’s activities wholeheartedly and was the main reason his oldest became an Eagle Scout and his middle child a glider pilot at age 14. A strong support set them up for later professional success. When his children were young, he emparted his love for the outdoors, taking his family camping and/or boating/fishing/skin diving nearly every weekend. He supported his wife Dell in all pursuits wholeheartedly, including volunteer work at Vizcaya, Fairchild Gardens and the Fruit and Spice Park. Bill and Dell loved to socialize and had a wide circle of friends. They hosted and attended many dinner parties with their friends and neighbors. They also were members of numerous clubs including the Miami German Club, the Porsche Club, the Key Biscayne Yacht Club and Miami Yacht Club. Bill loved dogs beyond compare and from the time he was married had a constant parade of them, including his beloved Greyhounds and his long haired Dachshund Maggie who stayed with him giving him comfort until the end of his life. In his later years when movement became more difficult, Fox News and action movies also became constant companions.
Bill is survived by his son, William Frederick Reich IV and his wife Neri of Virginia Beach, VA; his daughter Bo Reich and her husband Dennis Brooks of Alachua, FL; three grandchildren: Marie Celeste Clark nee Reich of Springfield, VA; William Frederick Reich V of Honolulu, HI; and Leilani Delphine Reich of Virginia Beach, VA. He was predeceased by his son Thomas Marden Reich who died in 1979 and his sister Barbara Van Kirk who died in 2017.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, 163 Lancaster St., Suite 160B, Portland, ME 04101.
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Bye Dad. You will be sorely missed by me, Neri and your grandkids, Marie, Billy and Lani. You did a great job raising us and I can’t express in words how much I love you and appreciate everything you did for me. I hope you are reunited with Mom, Tommy, your sister Barbara, your mother and Father, and all those relatives and friends who passed on. I hope to see you again in the next life, whatever form it takes. Love, Billy