Riegel, Charles "Chic" William
7/1/1922 - 1/23/2016 Age 93, has been taken home to be with his Lord to celebrate his new life on Saturday January 23, 2016. He is now in the arms of his loving wife Vivian of 65 years, who preceded him in 2012 whom he called his "sweetie pie". She was the girl next door who he married on 5/1/1948 at Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church in Glendale NY. Chic was born in Brooklyn NY on July 1, 1922. He answered his Nations call to duty and joined the Marine Corp on 1/15/1942. He served his country during WW II in the Pacific Theater-with the 1st division on Guadalcanal and honorably discharged on 7/27/1945. He worked in his father’s business as a house painter and after the war worked at the VA Regional office in NYC and retired from the VAH in Northport, LINY. His father who was in WW I died at the age of 50, and his mother who was a nurse he cared for till she died at age 83. He moved to New Mexico in 1985 with his wife and embraced the western life - cowboy hat, boots and bola tie.
He loved serving his Church; he called and checked on friends and family every day, he loved tinkering around and carving out walking sticks from cactus branches, and he relentlessly prayed for people starting off morning and night with the Lord’s Prayer till he died.
He truly was a gentle man with "amazing faith "leaving behind his only daughter Eileen Doench and husband Don; loving grandson David Alan Doench and fiancee Kim Parsons; favorite and loving granddaughter Danielle Averi Panicko and husband Brian; his great-grandchildren Reese, Taylor and Noah, all whom lit up his life especially when he moved to Arizona in 2014 to be with his family. He also leaves behind his "adopted children" as he referred to them, Patti & Bud Smith, Kathleen Winslow, Cathryn & Marie Johnson.
He is preceded in death by his brothers Robert and Fred Riegel whose wife Gay is still living in NYC.
He will be interred on February 12th, 2016 at the Santa Fe National Cemetery. A Celebration of Life and Memorial will be held Saturday, February 13, 2016 at 11am at Calvary Lutheran Church, Rio Rancho NM and at a later date at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church in Fountain Hills, AZ.