Eugenia "Gene" Reinhardt

Eugenia "Gene" Reinhardt, age 100, Philip, S.D., died Saturday, Dec. 12, 2015, at the Philip Nursing Home.

  Eugenia "Gene" Reinhardt was born Oct. 22, 1915 to Elizabeth and George Ruff in Ault, Colo. They moved to Butte County in South Dakota when she was nine months old and she resided in various residences in Butte County throughout her remaining childhood and adult life until 2003 when she moved to the Hickory House in Spearfish.

She was the oldest of 13 children of which three of those 13 died in infancy, leaving the family with 10 children. Both of her parents migrated from Russia to the United States, which gave her the German-Russian ethnicity. Being the oldest of 10 children placed the responsibility of helping with all the daily chores involved in raising those children and employing and boarding several hired men to help with their farm.

Eugenia went to college. She attended Spearfish College for one quarter and decided to go to beauty school in Deadwood. After completing her training in beauty school, she worked as a hairdresser in Deadwood. In the very late 1930s, she and Ed decided they should marry, so she quit her job and married Edward Reinhardt in April 1940.

They lived in Vale for a few years, at which time Patsye was born. After Patsye was born in 1941, Ed purchased a farm in Arpan located three miles north of Nisland. Edward, Jr. was born in 1946 and Gretchen was born in 1949 while living in Arpan. They continued to live in Arpan until the mid to late 1970s. They sold their farm and retired in Newell in a two story home that once belonged to Eugenia's parents. Ed passed away in 1989 and Eugenia sold her two story house and moved to Belle Fourche in 1994. She lived in a duplex in Belle but later moved to an apartment in Belle. In 2003, she moved to the Hickory House in Spearfish. In 2005, she moved to Philip and lived in the assisted living facility and the nursing home until her death.

Eugenia held a variety of jobs during her life. She was a beautician, and also worked in the Butte County treasurer's office. She was a hard worker and a gifted and talented lady. She was a gardener, raised flowers and vegetables and had a beautiful yard, even though a great deal of time was spent taking care of the farm animals.

But her greatest gift was that she was a wonderful cook. She cooked at one time for the Nisland School lunch program and also for the Belle Fourche Don Pratt Manor, and in her later years she and her sister, Marie, had the Cove Cafe in Newell. Many people looked forward to tasting her home cooking in that cafe.

She hosted many family gatherings and prepared many German dishes for her family members. She fried grebel (a German version of a rich donut made with sour cream and twisted into a knot) at her church bazaar in Newell and people flocked to come buy her grebel. Her ability to socialize and yet work hard made her truly an asset to her family, the church, and her community. She will dearly be missed.

Survivors include her son, Edward Reinhardt, Jr., Belle Fourche; her daughter, Gretchen Phillips and her husband, Gary, Philip; three grandchildren, Nicholas and Nathan Phillips, and Laurie Gene Reinhardt; and a host of other relatives and friends.

Gene was preceded in death by her husband, Edward Reinhardt, in 1989; her daughter, Patsye Reinhardt Hostler, in 1971; four sisters, Betty Glove, Marie Nissen, Dorothea Soldivini and Shirley Turpin; five brothers, George, Robert, Paul, Dale and Dave Ruff; three siblings in infancy; and a daughter-in-law, Lana Reinhardt.

Visitation will be held from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 17, at Rush Funeral Home in Philip.

Services will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 18, at St. James Lutheran Church in Belle Fourche.

Interment will be at Pine Slope Cemetery in Belle Fourche.

Arrangements are with Rush Funeral Home of Philip.