OBITUARIES

Paul Richard Reinhart

Paul Reinhart passed away on Oct. 14, 2022, at his home in Twain Harte. Paul was born in Des Moines, Iowa, to Melvin and Martha (Matinzinger) Reinhart, the fourth of seven children. He worked on the family farm after high school until his enlistment in the Air Force, where he served in Korea in the motor pool as a mechanic which led to his lifelong career.

He returned to the farm after his honorable discharge in 1954 until an Air Force friend suggested he head out to Oakland, California. He worked as a mechanic for a local Union 76 gas station and became interested and involved in amateur auto racing. When asked how he got interested, he said, “I had a car!” He became involved in the SCCA West Coast Circuit, racing his 1957 Corvette up and down the coast which led to his B-production championships in 1961 and 1962.

This led to the purchase of a 1963 Corvette Z06, sixth off the production line which he raced for a portion of the 1963 season before moving on to a genie race car. Without a sponsor and with a family to support, he hung up his keys in 1965.

Fast forward to the early 1980s, he found his 1963 Z06 in the newspaper, restored it, and began racing it in vintage auto races at Laguna Seca and Sonoma Raceway, and he raced as if he had never left the track. Eventually, he sold the Z06 again, restored a 1957 Corvette, and raced that until 2013, when he retired for good. He could still be found at the races visiting friends and fans to the delight of them all.

Paul was predeceased by his wife, Wanda, and later by his partner Roberta Bruton. He leaves behind his son, Mark Benson (Nancy Jakiela), his grandson Cody Benson (Emily Smeriglio), a granddaughter, Tami Linhart, and her children and grandchildren, and his brother-in-law Charles Armstrong (Mindy).

The family is thankful for Debbie Bruton, his neighbor and friend, who watched out for him through the years, drove him to doctors’ visits, and cared for him in these last six months.

Paul requested there be no services, and he will be interred in the Reinhart family cemetery in Alleman, Iowa.

Donations can be made in his memory to Interfaith Community Social Services c/o Cathie Peacock, Director P.O. Box 5070, Sonora, CA 95370.

If you would like to leave your condolences or memories of Paul, that can be done at Paulreinhartz06@ gmail.com