MONMOUTH
– John “Jack” Reitman Sr., 76, Monmouth died Thursday, April 23, 2009 at
Advocate-Good Shepherd Hospital, Barrington.
He was born
Feb. 27, 1933 in Little York, the son of William and Anna (Gaylor) Reitman He was
raised and educated in Little York, graduating from Little York High School in
1951.
He married
Katherine Jean Peck in West Chicago, Jan. 14, 1955. She survives.
He served with the U.S. Army in Korea from 1951 to 1952.
Reitman started
his career as a fireman in Monmouth Fire Department rising to the rank of
captain. He also worked part time for Hoover Memorial Chapel and as a driver
for Monmouth Culvert.
Reitman moved
to Libertyville to assume the position of Fire Chief in 1969. He remained Fire
Chief of Libertyville until his retirement in 1995. During his 26 years in
Libertyville he was responsible for establishing three fires stations,
establishing full time fire fighters and equipping the fire department with the
latest fire fighting and safety equipment.
In 1978,
Reitman was elected as president of the Illinois Fire Chief’s Association. In
1979, he was re-elected as president. He was the only chief in the history of
the association to be elected president for two consecutive terms.
In 1996, Jack
and Jean moved back to Monmouth where Jack became chief of the Monmouth Fire
Department from 1996 until 2000. He later served as the mayor of Monmouth from
2001 to 2005
Reitman was a
member of the First Christian Church of Monmouth, Monmouth American Legion Post
136 and the Monmouth Kiwanis Club, Monmouth Jaycees where he served as
president. He enjoyed playing golf and spending time with his grandchildren.
In addition to
his wife, he is survived by children, Teresa (Gary) Simon, Lake Zurich,
Hugh (Cheryl) Reitman, Grayslake, Rodger Reitman, Montana, John Reitman, Jr.,
Florida and Deena (Marty) Neal, Libertyville; his grandchildren, Kellen
(Justin) Linderman, Tony Simon, Brock Simon, Lindsay Reitman, Ryan (Mary)
Reitman, Gina Reitman, Taylor Reitman, Addie Neal, Jack Neal, Sean Neal and
Joey Neal; his great-grandchildren, Cameron and Evelyn; brothers, Bill
(Margaret) Reitman, Monmouth and Robert (Virginia) Reitman, Arkansas; sister,
Shirley Gulberg, Stronghurst.
He was preceded
in death by his parents.
Funeral
services will be 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 28 at the First Christian Church of
Monmouth with Rev. James Epperson officiating. Burial will be in Warren County
Memorial Park, Monmouth. Friends may call after 12 p.m. Monday, April 27 at
Hoover-Hall Memorial Chapel, where his family will be present from 3-7 p.m.
Memorials may be given to the the Monmouth Fire Department or the First
Christian Church of Monmouth.
Review Atlas (April 24, 2009).
Former Monmouth mayor dies
By
By Matt Hutton
Daily Review
Atlas
Fri Apr 24,
2009, 08:12 PM CDT
Colleagues say
former Monmouth Mayor Jack Reitman will be remembered as a caring, accessible
public official who always had time to listen to citizens concerns and
complaints.
Reitman, 76,
died on Thursday.
"It was a
lot of fun working with Jack," said long-time council member Dan Burgland.
"He was very much involved in the aspects of the community. He always
attended different functions and we went different places together representing
the city."
City Clerk
Susan Trevor said Reitman always wanted to deal directly with the citizens. At
one point, the city was considering an automated phone service for City Hall
and Reitman was "absolutely against that. He wanted to have a real person
respond" to citizens.
"He was
absolutely passionate and dedicated about his job," she said. "He
always was good to me and good to work with."
Reitman served
one term from 2001 to 2005, when he lost his re-election bid to current Mayor
Rod Davies.
Some of
Reitman's biggest accomplishments were dealing with Environmental Protection
Agency mandates — including work to lessen the amount of radium in the water —
as well as building a better relationship with Farmland, Trevor said. Something
else Reitman was proud of, she said, was hiring Police Chief Brad Zeigler. To
that point the city had typically promoted from within the department, but
Reitman brought in consultants and followed their advice to look outside the
department. Zeigler joined the Monmouth Police Department from Galesburg.
"He was
very dedicated to public safety," Trevor said.
Along with his
tenure as mayor, Reitman is best know for serving 26 years as fire chief of the
Libertyville Fire Department. Starting as chief in 1969, he took over a
volunteer staff and helped turn it into a department with two stations and 25
full-time firefighters, said current Libertyville Chief Richard Carani.
Reitman was
elected president of the Illinois Fire Chief’s Association, in 1978 and
re-elected in 1979. To this day, he remains the only chief to serve two
consecutive terms.
In 1996,
Reitman and his wife, Jean, returned to Monmouth where he served as Monmouth
Fire Chief from 1996 to 2000.
"He was
very active as mayor," Burgland said, "He spent a lot of time working
at it. He was always upbeat, always good with the citizens whenever they came
in to talk, ask questions or complain. He was always really good with
people."
Funeral
services will be 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at the First Christian Church of
Monmouth. Burial will be in Warren County Memorial Park, Monmouth.
Calling hours are after 12 p.m. Monday at Hoover-Hall Chapel.