Virgil C. Reiter, 76, of Polk City and formerly of Perry, surrounded by his loving family, passed away Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018, at Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa.
A visitation will be held Friday, Nov. 16 from 5-8 p.m at the Fredregill Funeral and Cremation Care, 302 S. Second St. in Polk City. His funeral will be Saturday, Nov. 17 at 10:30 a.m. at the funeral home. Immediately after the funeral, the family invites friends to join them for a time of refreshments and fellowship at the Polk City American Legion Post 232, 114 W. Broadway St. in Polk City. A private family burial will be held at a later date.
Virgil was born July 12, 1942, in Iowa City, Iowa, to Charles C. and Inez E. (Marble) Reiter.
On July 2, 1966, he married Nancy Goosic in Nevada, Iowa, and to this union two children were born, Jeffrey C. Reiter and Vicky L. Reiter
Virgil’s mother was killed in a vehicle accident when he was 19 months old. With his dad in the service, his very early years were spent with his mother’s family, Delos R. and Faye (Gloyd) Marble.
His early school years found him living with his aunt and uncle, Spencer and Delores Steece, and becoming one of their kids, making him feel more like a sibling than a cousin to Linda, Larry, Gary, Deb, Lyle and Kathy Steece.
Virgil later moved with his dad and new family to Perry, where he excelled at football and wrestling, becoming Perry’s first state champion wrestler in 1959 at 154 pounds. He placed second in 1960 after being sick for a week and losing his grandfather at the same.
He graduated May 25, 1960, from Perry High School. In the fall of 1960, he entered Iowa State College on a football scholarship. He was in the first class inducted into the Perry Hall of Fame in March 1979.
While serving his time with Uncle Sam in the U.S. Air Force from 1961 to 1965, he also got to play football again and tore up his knees.
On June 27, 1967, while working on the parking ramp at the University of Iowa Hospital, Virgil was dropped 40 feet in a construction accident. He suffered no broken bones, but this accident and various sports injuries were the start of health injuries that would affect him the rest of his life.
Virgil returned to ISU and was part of the practice wrestling team. His favorite memory was pinning Chris Taylor in practice. He graduated in May 1979 with a degree in business.
He went to work for the state of Iowa and retired in 2008 as a programmer analyst for Iowa Workforce Development.
Virgil especially liked attending his kids’ and his grandkids’ many programs and sporting events, missing them only for health reasons.
He liked attending ISU football games and cheering other Iowa teams when they weren’t playing ISU, and his other interests included hunting, fishing, genealogy and all family activities.
He totally had intended on going deer hunting this fall.
Virgil will be missed by wife, Nancy; son, Jeff; daughter, Vicky L. Russell; six fantastic (in his eyes) grandkids, Paige, Grace and Emma Reiter and Mason, Brant and Laney Russell; four bothers, Bill, Danny, David and Mike; a sister, Cheryl; brothers-in-law, LeRoy Goosic and Ellis Brown; sister-in-law, Helen Nernes; and many other relatives; friends; PHS classmates; and coffee friends.
Virgil was preceded in death by his parent; niece, Janice Reiter; sisters-in-law, Millie Brown and Linda Reiter; and brother-in-law, Larry Nernes.
The family requests that attendees please wear ISU Cyclone attire or casual clothing to the funeral. If you need to wear Iowa Hawkeye clothing, you will be asked to park cars for the funeral or sit in the balcony (Virgil humor).
Memorial contributions may be directed to Polk City American Legion or the North Polk Booster Club.
The Fredregill Funeral and Cremation Care has been entrusted with the care of Virgil and his family.
