Obituary: Reinertson, Calvin
A long time resident in the Spokane, WA area.
He was a Veteran of World War II, and had retired from a long career in banking and farming.
He is survived by his son, James Anthony Reinertson, (spouse Constance Verheyen) of Irvine, CA; and his daughter, Mary Ann Wilcox and grandson, Calvin Edward Wilcox, of Villa Rica, GA. Also surviving him are two sisters, Elizabeth (Betty) Swaney of Hot Springs, MT and Janet Germane of Los Altos Hills, CA; and nieces, nephews and cousins.
Born in Plentywood, MT in 1918, he was the second child of Anton and Ida Reinertson.
The family moved to Western Montana in 1928, where he spent his youth and college years.
He was preceded in death by his parents, elder brother Milton; sister, Mary Halvorson Brown; and his wife, Elizabeth (Betty) Bell Reinertson.
Schooled in Plains, MT and Hot Springs, MT, he participated in the Civilian Conservation Corps before entering Aeronautic School in Helena, MT.
He enlisted in the U.S. Army on January 6, 1941, eleven months before the Pearl Harbor attack propelled the U.S. into WWII.
He was at Geiger Field, Spokane, on Pearl Harbor day and remembered the frantic rearrangement of planes on the field.
He served in the Army Air Force in Fogia, Italy, in the 460th Bombing Group, 762 Squadron until August 31, 1945.
A typical target of their bombing assignments were the Ploesti Oil Fields of Rumania.
Post war, in 1949, he completed a B.A.
in Accounting at the University of MT in Missoula, where his most admired professor was Dean Leapheart of the Law School.
After five years of partnering with his father in automotive sales and service, he moved to Spokane to enter banking; first at Farmers and Merchants Bank and then as VP in Lending at Washington Trust Bank.
On April 24, 1954, he married musician Elizabeth Grace Bell of Rockford, WA and they made their first home in Opportunity, WA, where she continued her employment with Campfire Girls.
James was born in 1957 and Mary Ann in 1964.
The family later moved to the Bell Farm in Rockford, in connection with the establishment of an enterprise, Combined Bell Farms.
Calvin pursued various recreational interests in his long life.
He played saxophone in a jazz band during high school and was always a gifted musical whistler.
He enjoyed hunting and fishing and belonged to the Elks Club, Ducks Unlimited, and Lions Club.
Restoring classic cars such as MGs allowed him to use his precise skills and meticulous methods.
He retired from Thunderbird Car competitions when he had won every award.
He and Betty shared a deep love for dogs and horses.
They raised Labradors.
They built a riding arena for the training and showing of Western Quarter Horses, consistently winning blue ribbons.
He will be long remembered as a very respected banker, an involved citizen, a devoted family man and friend, a skilled pilot, and as a country man who loved the land.
Services will be private.
Interment will be at the family plot in Rockford, WA.
The family suggests that any contribution in his memory might be made to one’s favorite charity.