SCHOOL COMMUNITY PAY HOMAGE TO ‘EXCEPTIONAL’ PREP TEACHER
THE Helensvale State School community is in mourning following the death of long-serving Prep teacher Vicki Reineker.
Mrs Reineker passed away peacefully in the early hours of Sunday, aged 61, following a long battle with cancer.
Mrs Reineker is survived by husband David and children Anthony and Carlie, both former Helensvale State School pupils, their partners Rachel and David, grandchildren Olive and Alfie and her sister Lindy.
Mr Reineker said his wife was a wonderful woman with a heart of gold.
“She called a spade a spade and had a bit of a warped sense of humour one might say,” he said.
In a tribute to Mrs Reineker on Facebook, Helensvale State School principal Mike Shambrook said she had maintained “a wonderful caring spirit for those around her” as she showed “courageous fighting spirit” and “a determination to be positive until the very end”.
Originally from Wagga Wagga, Mrs Reineker taught more than 600 pupils at Helensvale State School in the years since she and her family moved to the Gold Coast in 1994.
“Her dedication to her students will be well remembered by those she taught and worked alongside over many years,” Mr Shambrook said. “At a morning tea held for Vicki, just over two weeks ago, she presented like she was going to live forever. She was so determined to win her battle.”
Mrs Reineker’s colleagues, students past and present and their families took to social media to share their heartfelt condolences to the “exceptional” teacher’s family.
“First teachers always touch a life forever. She was one of those teachers,” Maggie Webb wrote on Facebook.
A celebration of Mrs Reineker’s life will be held in the Parkview Chapel at Allambe Memorial Park, Nerang, on Monday, August 20 at 2.30pm.