Scott Reininger

Scott passed away Oct. 13, 2009. Born Dec, 5, 1961 at Minot A.F.B. North Dakota to Richard and Janet. Scott graduated from Ranum High School in 1980 and joined the Air Force to become an X-Ray Technician. Scott went to Maxwell AFB Alabama where he met and married Debbie Sheldon. They moved to Denver and had 2 children, Amber Lynn and Joshua Scott. Scott worked for 10 years at Denver General, then for the last 15 years at the V.A. Scott is survived by his parents Richard and Jan, sister Dorothy Kapaun, his children, Amber and Josh, and many cousins, aunts and uncles. Scott will be remembered for his abundant generosity and his enormous sense of humor. Aptly described by his long-time friend, William, Scott was a “handsome soul” who loved to laugh. Scott’s memorial service will be held at Westminster Christian Church at 10:00am on Tuesday, Oct. 20th. He will be laid to rest in a private cemetery near Leadville, CO. Words from Scott’s friend, William: “The Hindu have a saying: ‘We all have 3 faces: the one we think we show, the one they think they see, and the one that really is.’ My friend Scott wasn’t what you’d typically think of as a handsome man but to see him brought me great joy. No person’s life can be summed up in one short telling and we are a different person to each one whose lives we touch. I would like to share some of my memories of Scott and I can only try to be true in describing someone else’s heart, sharing what, to me, made him a handsome soul. I first met Scott 15 years ago working at the V.A. hospital. He was quick to smile, quick with jokes, and even quicker with pranks. The first prank he played on me was but one short week after meeting him. I was wearing bright green hospital scrubs and he came up to me and started a conversation about a band playing in a bar. He said the band members were friends of his and he wanted to know if I would like to go see them. What I didn’t know was that in his right hand was a small saline squirt bottle and the whole time he was talking to me, he was squirting a fine mist of water onto the crotch of my pants. I said that I would like to go but right now I had a patient waiting. It wasn’t until I had gone around two corners that the water soaked in enough that I felt it. With the bright green scrubs you could see the wet a mile away and it looked like I had wet my pants. That was the beginning of our friendship. Scott was an asset to the V.A., he was a hard worker and he made the work day go by more quickly. Well, for the next five years I spent almost every free minute with Scott. I practically lived at his house. I got to know and spend time with his wonderful family. They are all wonderful people and some of my best memories are of time spent with his family, going to church and after church. Someone once said children seem to see what adults cannot, reflect not, focus not on the dark but on the light. Scott was a kind soul. A child of God. He was forgiving, kind, sharing, and more Christian at heart than the majority. It is wonderful to think what the presence of one human being can do for another, changing everything in another’s world. Geneticists say that each person is different in at least 5 million ways and it would take enough new births to fill a solar system to even get close to making another you. Scott was one of a kind. He respected his parents, loved his children, he believed in me and I am better for having known him. Nine years ago I moved away. I tried to talk him into moving out by my wife and I, to the peace of small town life. He even bought a large acreage with the hopes that someday he might retire there. However, he sold it to start his new business and once he sold it and became busy with the new business I heard less from him. To know God empowers us to love others and I came to think of Scott as a brother. However, this last Christmas I came back to visit Scott and felt that Scott was struggling with life. He became agnostic, questioning the existence of God, and he seemed to have lost some inner light. Yet every night after closing his store, he would take all the extras down to a homeless shelter. To me, working in the service of humanity is work that worships God. Scott and I had many different interests and so we learned a lot from each other. His knowledge of rock bands was amazing. He really loved music. There is an old song that goes somewhat like this: ‘O who will wlak a mile with me along life’s merry way? A comrade blithe and full of glee, who dares to laugh out loud and free. And who will walk a mile with me along life’s weary way? A friend whose heart has eyes to see over the darkening lea. With such a comrade, such a friend, I would walk to journey’s end, Through summer sunshine, winter rain, and then? Farewell, we shall meet again.’ Until then Scott, Go with God.” Posted by All Veterans Funeral & Cremation