Wife: He had a passion for his family, his history and his country

STAMFORD — Seventytwo-year-old Erwin Reich was a serious walker.

Just about every morning, he would leave his home early and do a fourmile loop, up Newfield Avenue and back to his house, just off Strawberry Hill Avenue near Colonial Road.

“Six days a week. And he hardly ever missed a day. He would go every morning early, almost without fail,” his wife Veronica said through tears Thursday, determined to honor her husband’s life, just hours after he set off on what would be his last walk that morning.

Police said Erwin Reich was hit by a car as he was walking north on Newfield shortly before 6 a.m. Police are investigating the circumstances of the accident. The driver, a Stamford woman who police said was cooperating, told police that

“Edwin was passionate about everything. When I think of Erwin I think of his passion. He loved his wife, he loved his family and he loved history.” Sandy Shapiro, Reich family friend

she did not see Reich before she struck him, police said.

The Reichs were married for 43 years. Erwin spent most of his carrier as a chemical engineer for a major oil company, then was an independent consultant before retiring a few years ago.

Veronica Reich, 65, said her husband was someone who loved America dearly. He grew up in Communist Romania, in a little mountain town called Bratca, and came to the United States when he was 14.

“He was a passionate patriot. He loved this country very much because he understood what it was like to live without these freedoms,” she said. “He remembered what it was like.”

Both of his parents, and those of his wife, were Holocaust survivors, and Erwin was very interested in their history, their genealogy and honoring the memories of those lost in the Holocaust, Veronica Reich said. Reich and his wife had a trip planned to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum last April, but had to cancel because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Erwin Reich had visited his hometown a number of times during his life.

“He really wanted go go and say his prayers there. We really felt like we needed to go, but Covid canceled it,” Veronica Reich said.

Sandy Shapiro, who met the Reichs when they moved to Hope Street a year after they were married 42 years ago, said his good friend was a very passionate person.

“This is an absolute shock,” said Shapiro. “Edwin was passionate about everything. When I think of Erwin I think of his passion. He loved his wife, he loved his family and he loved history.”

Born in 1948, Reich was not a Holocaust survivor, but he was a child of the Holocaust, Shapiro said.

“He wanted to know everything he could about what happened to his parents and his family and he did a tremendous amount of research,” Shapiro said. “He was an engineer and he had that characteristic that engineers have about getting down to particulars.”

Veronica Reich said her husband was writing a book about about his family’s history in Romania.

Shapiro said Reich had an understanding about what America means that natives of the country don’t have.

“Growing up in Romania gave him a unique appreciation for the country that is America and all the freedoms we have,” Shapiro said.

Veronica said her husband was so looking forward to holding the baby their daughter Arielle, who lives in Glastonbury, is about to deliver. Arielle also has a daughter named Ellis. Their son, Joseph, who lives in New Mexico, has a son named Oliver.

“He was the light of his life. He was so looking forward to spending time with his grandchildren and the new baby. It is unfathomable,” Veronica Reich said.