Charles “Chuck” Reinert age 76 of Tracy passed away Friday, May 6, 2016 at Sanford Tracy Hospital. Memorial services will be at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, May 11 at Tracy United Methodist Church, with fellowship and lunch immediately following. Burial will be in Tracy City Cemetery. Memorials to a charity of the donor’s choice are preferred in lieu of flowers in honor of Chuck’s Pay It Forward tradition. Online condolences may be sent at www.stephensfuneralservice.com. Stephens Funeral Service – Tracy Area Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.
Charles Peter Reinert, ND, PHD, CHt, EFT-ADV, BT P.I.T, was born May 23, 1939 to Ervin V. & Lucille M. (Peterson) Reinert in Tracy, MN. He was the third child with two older sisters Joyce and Jacqueline and one younger sister Kaye. Early on, his passions included fascination with ham radios, helping his dad on the farm and beekeeping, and then playing the clarinet in the band. The passion for radios and tinkering developed into a college aptitude and a desire to quest for explanation to our universe and all of its mysteries, and ventured into Physics. He graduated Tracy High School in 1957. He started at the University of Minnesota and graduated with his B.S. in Physics in 1961 and his Masters in Science in 1963 and his PHD in 1969. He moved to Las Vegas to start his teaching career in Physics before moving back to become a Physics professor at Southwest State University in Marshall, MN where he taught up until 1998 when he “retired”. He also was a beekeeper by heritage and spent the summers training his children and community kids in the trade as well. He spent many years tending to the hives which of course led to more friendships, especially from the great state of South Dakota. But, he eventually realized that life was not about navigating the mysteries of the physical and theoretical world but of people within themselves. Chuck always felt the pull to help and heal and could not stop himself from trying to find answers where modern medicine had not yet been. He explored many treatments and modalities and had his Naturopathy degree. He made many friends and met so many people with so many different stories. He opened his Helping to Heal Clinic in 2003. He also spent his recent spare time (spare time was never much spent sitting except for a nap here and there!) entertaining nursing home residents and the like with his renewed love of music and singing. His family will forever have his voice and songs to remember him by. He was a Master Mason, a position he enjoyed and shared with his beloved son Pete. Throughout he lived and loved. He made time for his family and whatever anyone needed, whoever they were; a friend or a stranger (although never a stranger for long!), he would give his shirt off his back. He found love and happiness in his life which was not perfect each time until he got it just right. He married Judy Geegh in 1968 and born from that love was Peter and Jennifer. He married Caryl Keith in 1981 and born from that love was Charly and shared in that love was Michael and Michelle. Then, he met and fell in love with his true soul mate and married the love of his life Lois in 1991. Shared in that love was Joseph and Nicholas. Chuck then extended his love to all his grandchildren. Lois and Chuck enjoyed nature walks together, canoeing, gardening, canning and salsa. The truth is, Chuck was always into something interesting and fun. If it wasn’t fun, it probably wasn’t worth doing. He wanted everyone to remember the stories and laughter and the good times and to know he is in a better place where the sun is shining, the flowers are blooming and the bees are bringing in the best honey around. We hope he has now found all the answers he was seeking and we will see him on the other side.
Charles was preceded in death by his father Ervin, his mother Lucille, his daughter Jennifer, and his younger sister Kaye. He is survived by his wife Lois; son Peter Reinert; daughter Charly (Patrick) Stansbery; step-sons Joseph (Melissa), Nicholas (Teresa) Pallansch, Michael (Laurie) Keith; step-daughter Michelle (Perrie Garland) Keith; beloved grandchildren Hannah, Eirik, Evan, Frija, Keegan, Katrina, Cayley, Morgan, Lucy, and Chase; and siblings Jacqueline (Harold) Deal and Joyce (Walt) Fusty; and many other relatives and good friends.
“I was a sailor, I was born on the tide, and with the sea I did abide. I sailed a schooner round the horn to Mexico. I went aloft and furled the mansail in a blow. And when the yards broke off, they say that I got killed. But I am living still…I’ll always be around and around and around…And I’ll be back again…”
Dear Lois, I was so sorry to hear of Charles passing. I wasn’t aware that he was ill. Charles was a special person to all who knew him. He was always there to lend a helping hand. He will be greatly missed. You have my sympathy on the loss of this wonderful person.
Dear Lois~My Sister-in-Heart,
I am so sad and so sorry that your beloved husband no longer walks with you. My heartfelt sympathies to you and to your family. Charles was such a wonderful friend to me and to so many others. We will miss his many stories, his corny jokes and his beautiful smile. I bet he’s wearing his clown nose right now and making all his fellow angels laugh!
Charles, you will always remain with us~~in our wonderful memories of you and in our hearts!
Sending Prayers, Much Love, and Many Blessings to You, Lois. Please take real good care of yourself!!
Pete and family,
I am so sorry for your loss. Please know that you are in my thoughts and prayers. I am not able to come to the funeral as I have to be in Sioux Falls that day. You are loved! Jackie and Gary
So sorry to hear of Charles’ passing. Much love and sympathy to you, Lois, and all the family and his many friends.
Elizabeth McCabe, Reiki practitioner and teacher, from Pipestone
Dear Lois, so sorry for your loss. I always enjoyed talking with Charles. He was a good man. Thoughts & prayers are with you & your family. God Bless.
Randy Wewetzer
All of us send our prayers and our heartfelt condolences to you, Lois, and all of Charles’ family, friends, clients, co-workers and every human being who is dearly missing the sweetness he brought to our lives. We are so very sorry for your loss and trust that he’s beaming love, with a big grin on his face, happy to be free as a bee! I’m so grateful for the honey he brought into our hearts! With much love, Melanie Palm for BodyTalk South Dakota
Lois and Pete,
I am so sorry for you loss and the absence of Chuck. He said, “There are some things you can do.”, in confronting an ailment. And there always were. Many people were helped to help themselves. He is missed, but he will live on. We are eternal spirits suffering through a human experience. His spirit is part of all of us. A big Bear Hug to all of you.
Ron Mann
Marshall
Dear Friends,
We are so saddened to hear of your loss. Chuck has been a part of our lives for many, many decades. So many memories of the bee shop, chatting beekeeping, talking physics, seeing him in the halls at SMSU, Sunday afternoon visits, sharing equipment, talking ideas, reflecting on the past, and so much more. He always had time to talk and share.
We will miss him greatly.
Stephen Klein and Family
Klein Foods, Inc.
Marshall
I met Charles several months ago. It was the first and only time I saw him.
Charles was and still is, a rare individual. Seldom in my 62 years have I had the sort of invigorating and fascinating conversation I had that day with a complete “stranger”.
I will be retiring in a week and one thing I definitely planned on doing was to drive to Tracy and visit with him more.
I am pleased I had the opportunity to know him. Even if only for that one day.
Thank you for sharing your good man with all of us, Lois.
Dear Charles (because I know you are reading this 😉 ), thank you. Thank you for your example of following the call of your soul. Thank you for your tireless efforts at putting holistic “tools” into people’s hands to improve their quality of life. Thank you for showing us what 76-years-young can look like — vibrant living up until the end. Thank you for never being “too old of a dog to learn new tricks”. 😉 (Yes, you could have mastered the Basic BodyTalk Protocol & Exploring Procedure LOL, with just a teensy bit more study time.) Thank you for being “G’pa Chuck” to my Karina and Prairie – and introducing them to Gayle & horseback riding, exercise balls & microphone singing – while I facilitated BodyTalk sessions for your patients. Thank you FOR hosting me at your beautiful clinic as a speaker & practitioner on many, many occasions – for introducing me to so many amazing individuals – many of whom are some of my most favorite people on the planet. Thank you for being patient with me and my “delayed email reading/responding”. 😉 Thank you for your fatherly advise on many occasions, for looking out for me, as my own late father would very much have appreciated. By the way, I find it interesting that my dad died on May 11 – the same day of your funeral – and his mom’s name was Lucille, too. Isn’t that interesting? 😉 Chuck (Dad), I miss you so much already. I saw the picture you emailed of the beautiful BodyTalk South Dakota “CBP Trophy” that you made with your own hands as a tribute and encouragement for more South Dakotans pursue becoming BodyTalk Practitioners. (I am guessing it is in your office yet?) I am so sorry for taking for granted that you would just always be around. I guess that’s what you get for being so lively, passionate, and engaged with life right up until the end!! THANK YOU for all of the seeds you planted. Speaking of “seeds”, the BodyTalk South Dakota volunteer leader-team voted last night to plant a seed in YOUR honor – someone in need will receive a $100 needs-based “Charles Reinert pay-it-forward scholarship” toward a BodyTalk ACCESS class. 🙂 My list of gratitudes could go on and on…but my daughters are saying it’s time to go to sleep so we can make it up and over to your celebration service in the morning. 🙂 THANK YOU!!
To the family of Chuck Reinert,
You have my sympathy on your loss. I met Chuck in first grade in country school and he remained my best friend all through school and beyond. We did all kinds of things growing up. I remember his Ham radio days, played first chair clarinet in the band, went canoeing and camping together and all the youthful things. We remained friends through our adult years. He was one of a kind and will surely be missed by all who knew him.
David Halfmann
Marshall, MN
Charles was a great philosopher and champion for wholistic health. He was an entertainer and vocalist. But, he was mostly a dear friend who made our world better. Our condolences to his family and friends. Eugenie and I will miss his inquisitive mind and generosity of spirit.
Gary and Eugenie (Charles’ voice teacher)
I am so sorry to hear about Charles. His loss leaves a great empty space in the lives of so many of us. He brought such enthusiasm and such great kindness into the lives of so many. Blessings and appreciation to you, Charles, and much comfort to his family, friends and loved ones .
Chuck’s Family and Friends,
I was one of Chuck’s physics students at SSU and worked with him on the solar collector project back in the late 70’s. I spent two summers working on that project and spent one of them helping with the bee keeping operation. I remember you, Peter, your sister Jennifer, and your mom.
I learned a great deal about experimental physics from Chuck. He let us design our own experiments and then follow them through. On one occasion we designed an apparatus to measure the thrust curve of a rocket engine, it was a small model rocket engine. Chuck turned us loose in the physics stockroom and asked us to “figure it out”. We were given free rein on the design and execution of the experiment. Chuck asked us to present to him our plans along the way, and he guided us, but largely let us make our own mistakes, including igniting the first rocket engine in a physics lab without a vent hood. Needless to say, there was a little problem with the smoke produced.
I think I learned more from that experience about how to ask questions and set up an experimentnt to answer those questions than I did in any other single lab experience.
Chuck was also the person that organized a trip to Wolfpoint, Montana for a group of us in physics so we could observe and take data during the total solar eclipse. We had a phenomenal trip, thanks to his planning and contact with a bee keeper in the area.
Chuck and his colleagues in physics and math at SSU are the reasons I chose to earn a PhD and become a faculty member. He made a difference in my life and helped me find a career.
I am glad that Chuck was one of my professors and friends and that I got to know him, Peter, Jennifer, and Peter’s mother.
All my best to the family and his friends!!
Thanks, Chuck!!!
Pete – So sorry to hear about your dad, he was a good man. Wish I good have made it to the funeral today, but it just wasn’t in the cards. Again, my condolences.
Myk Greenfield
Family of Dr. Chuck,
So sorry to hear of the passing of Dr. Chuck. We were fortunate to get to know him as he would come to our Nursing Home in Redwood Falls every other month to share his love of music with all of us. He was such a great inspiration to our residents. His kindness and generousity was an example of the kind of man he was. He will be deeply missed.
Dear Pete and Lois,
Our condolences for the passing of Chuck. He was such a rare person–full of light and love and joy. His caring and helping spirit assisted and inspired many. While Charles is irreplaceable, we know he made this world a better place.
Love and prayers,
Thomas Ruppert & Carolina Gómez
We- Craig and Susan McLean , currently of Oberlin, OH and formerly of New England, ND.. We were saddened today to learn of Charles’s passing– we much enjoyed meeting and consulting with him at Helping To Heal in 2006 when seeking solutions to some anxiety and fatigue issues for Craig. We spent 4 days in Tracy, and met and worked with several other excellent practitioners as well. Just within the last month we have been thinking about relocating due to some unexpected changes.. and began thinking where on the map to head for next.. Tracy, MN came to mind and we began browsing Zillow and getting ‘pumped’ about the idea of being able to revisit Helping To Heal, and to let Charles know that we still think of him with fondness and high regard.. So- here we are, 2 weeks after beginning to think about Tracy as a possibility feeling the air just kinda went out of that happy idea balloon… but nothing is decided as yet… Perhaps there is something cooking in “Framework Two” that will still somehow involve Tracy- we aren’t sure yet, but were definitely ‘nudged’ to look into it– perhaps ‘just’ so we’d know about Charles, perhaps for as-yet-unknown-reasons … We send our regards, condolences and best wishes to all who knew and loved and had fun with your wonderful guy. Bon Voyage, Charles– and know that we often listen to the song Highwaymen on You-Tube.. We will do so again tonight in your honor. Wishing You The Best of Fun Exploring Your New/Timeless Dimensions.. Love, Susan and Craig
I cannot believe it has been a year and five months already. I am sorry it took this long to come give my condolences. On behalf of my family and father, Yia Vue, I would like to say a few things about sweet Charles.
Prior to Charles’ passing my father was very ill, my little family and two siblings drove from Fresno, CA to Marshall, MN to see him. There I saw Charles, I was surprised that after all these years they still stayed in contact. Charles was very persistent in wanting my father to seek further medical help for his deteriorating health. My father is very stubborn person but still each day Charles came back trying to persuade him to go to the hospital. I am happy to say with Charles support and encouragement my father let go of his pride and egos and is now better than he was the last time I saw him.
After returning home to CA I was very sad and heart broken to have heard the news that Charles had passed. Just know how much my family appreciated his time, patience and efforts and how unfair it is that Charles is no longer here.
God bless him and all the members of his family. We were blessed to have had him in our lives. Thank you so much Charles for everything you had done. I wished things would’ve happened differently. Sending love and prayers.
-May*