Obituary of William Edward Reif

William Edward Reif (Bill), age 84, of Waymart, PA, died on Saturday, July 22, 2023 at Geisinger Community Medical Center, Scranton, from head injuries sustained from an accidental fall Friday afternoon. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Dorothy Jane Stroupe Reif (Janie) of Charlotte, NC. The couple married on March 27, 1965, at Plaza Presbyterian Church, Charlotte. Bill died on the 125th birthday of his dad, born July 22, 1898, Honesdale. Born December 4, 1938, in Honesdale, PA, he was the son of the late William Christian and Frances Jeannette (Jean) Swoyer Reif, Honesdale, and grandson of the late Judge Alfred Edward and Helen Lathrop Swoyer and William J. and Katherine Hartung Reif, Honesdale. His sister, Barbara Ann, was four years older. As a teenager, he worked in the family store at 849 Main Street, Reif's Shoe Store, which his grandfather, W. J. Reif, built in 1894. He also worked there during summer breaks from college. He graduated from Honesdale High School in 1956, lettering in Varsity Basketball. He graduated from The Pennsylvania State University in 1960 with a BS Degree in Business Administration and majored in accounting. He was a member of Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity. He took ROTC in college and went into the Army as a Second Lieutenant. In 1960 his unit, the 6th Missile Battalion, 61st Artillery, received a year's training on the Hawk missile at Fort Bliss in El Paso, TX and White Sands Missile Range. His entire Battalion shipped out from New York City Harbor December 22, 1961 for Germany at the time of the Berlin Crises. He was stationed just outside Munich and finished his active tour of duty November 6, 1962, as a First Lieutenant and continued his military commitment in the reserves obtaining the rank of Captain. He began his career with the E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company February 4, 1963, in the Textile Fibers Department, Textile Marketing Division, Charlotte, NC. There he met Janie. Just four months after their marriage, Bill was transferred to New York City as an Advertising Specialist to support the DuPont corporate image. Bill and Janie worked on the fourth floor of the Empire State Building and lived in Guttenberg, NJ. A year later, August 1, 1966, he was transferred to Wilmington, DE in the Textile Marketing Division. He and Janie resided in Newark, DE, where they raised their two children, Shelley and David. Bill retired from DuPont July 5, 1999, serving 36 years in several divisions. Bill was confirmed in the Grace Episcopal Church, Honesdale, where he served as an acolyte. He was a Deacon in The First Presbyterian Church, Newark, DE and an Elder in The First Presbyterian Church, Honesdale. Bill served as Treasurer for ELDA association of Elk Lake for 22 years and volunteered with the Honesdale Community Pantry for many years. The Reif family has enjoyed summers at Elk Lake, Waymart, since the 1890s and Bill felt especially proud and blessed to have had the opportunity to pass down the Reif Elk Lake traditions to his own family. His last few days were spent with the entire family vacationing at Elk Lake and on Thursday eating his favorite meal of leg of lamb on the porch overlooking Elk Lake, cutting the grass, and playing cards on the porch enjoying a gorgeous evening. God is good. In 1998, the old family cottage his dad had built around 1933 was torn down and a new home built on the same spot. In June 2003, Bill and Janie returned to his roots to permanently reside at Elk Lake, after having lived 37 years in Newark, DE. Since then the extended family has enjoyed many happy summer and winter vacations at the lake. He was a loving husband, father, and grandfather and was faithful to his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He loved yard work and repairing things around the house. His son and grandchildren especially enjoyed working on projects with him. He always demonstrated great patience instilling life skills in them that they practice to this day. In retirement Bill and Janie travelled extensively both in the U.S. and abroad. Bill's family includes his two children, daughter Shelley Lynn and husband David Alton Armitage and three grandsons, Silas Alton, Jonah William, and Eli Blaine Armitage, Greensboro, NC; son David William, Drexel Hill, PA; sister-in-law Nancy Stroupe Lambeth and husband Phil; nieces Anna, Allison, Amanda, Charlotte, NC; sister-in-law Becky Stroupe Stowe and husband Edwin; nieces Rebecca, Charlotte, NC and Elizabeth, Jackson, WY; niece Laurie Ann Strohm Neal, Tucson, AZ. He is also preceded in death by his mother-and-father-in-law, Blaine Truesdell and Dorothy (Dot) Lillian Webb Stroupe, Charlotte, NC; sister Barbara Ann Reif Strohm and husband Wilbur (Bill) Strohm, Carmel, CA; nephew Brian John Strohm, CA. On Friday, July 28, the family will receive friends at Woodside of Grace Ridge Church, 611 Bethany Turnpike, Honesdale, from 1:00-2:00 followed by a service to celebrate Bill's life at 2:00 officiated by Reverend Michael J. Lyle. Arrangements are being made by Arthur A. Bryant Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, the family requests any donations in Bill's memory be made to Grace Ridge Church Level Grounds Café mission project (all proceeds are used to purchase milk for the children of Honesdale and the children in Kenya, Africa), 761 Terrace Street, Honesdale, PA 18431 or to Honesdale Community Pantry, 100 4th Street, Room 18, P.O. Box 14, Honesdale, PA 18431. Burial will be held at a later date.