Josephine (Maier) Reinhiller

Josephine Reinhiller, age 84, passed away on July 31 at Southwest Medical Center, Bowman, ND. Services will be held Monday, August 7 at 10:00 a.m.at Concordia Lutheran in Beulah with Rev. Toby Heller officiating.   Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at the church. Burial will take place at Rhine Cemetery, south of Beulah.

Born on September 22, 1938 to Ella (Klundt) and John Maier, the doctor picked up on a heart  murmur from the very beginning, but Josie started out strong and managed to make many memories to keep her smiling when life slowed her down.  She was a class champion arm wrestler through her 8th   grade year, led the marching band while twirling baton along with her best friend Peggy, and ran the barrels, earning a trip to nationals in Hallettsville, Texas in 1954. 

She and her friends were always up for an adventure, a highlight being a pack trip from Beulah to rodeo in New Town.  They headed off cross country, sleeping in barns and haystacks, cooking meals over an open fire and holding their breathe while crossing the Four Bears Bridge.  She was shaken awake during the 7.2 Yellowstone earthquake of 1959 while spending the summer cooking at a dude ranch in Ennis, Montana.

While attending Dickinson State, she met Lincoln Reinhiller at a dance and they married June 19, 1960. They taught school in Cando and Mott before moving to the ranch south of Beulah/Hazen.  Josie also taught Jr. High in Beulah and Underwood.

The Otter Creek flood of ’66 impacted life on the ranch for years to come.  Josie was baking caramel rolls on a rainy day; fortunately, daughter Sarah didn’t take her nap and alerted mom of muddy water leaking through a window casing and down the wall in their basement home.  Together they ran up the steps to see a 20-feet wall of water coming, took off for the nearest hillside and watched upstream neighbors’ barns, homes and livestock float past.  Link was in town taking the babysitter home, so the car was saved, but almost everything else except the livestock was lost.

The Lord was on her side to guide her through life, as she was baptized October 30, 1938 and confirmed in 1952 at Concordia Lutheran church.  Josie loved the Luther League activities, one of them being hosting prom in the church basement.  She started playing organ for church services at an early age and continued for seven decades along with special occasions such as weddings, funerals and Christmas programs.   She was a charter member of Knife River 4-H club and ingrained her kids with do-it-yourself skills such as gardening, canning, baking and horsemanship well as encouraging creative outlets in leatherwork, drawing and music.  We all made sure to learn the art of baking kuchen, fleishkuechla, rhubarb pie and fruit cake!  She was adept at drafting, designing their home on grid paper and then developing a to-scale cardboard model to help envision the new home up on the hill.  Her motto was  “Every Home should have a Piano” and she was happiest when playing duets, goodbyes were often in the form of “Happy Trails”. 

Josie is survived by husband Lincoln Reinhiller, daughter Sarah (Donald) Nordby, Amidon, ND grandchildren Hannah, Ty and Tate; daughter Liz (Scott) Housman, Medina, MN; and son Jeb (Maria) Reinhiller, Moorhead, MN grandchildren Alyssa and Isaac.  Also sister, Betty (Noel) Helm, Beulah and nieces and nephews.  She is preceded in death by her sister Arlene “Polly” Tabor, brother-in-law George Tabor, parents Ella and John Maier and brothers-in-law Vernon Reinhiller and Merril Reinhiller.

Josie loved flowers, but donations to the Concordia Lutheran music fund or the Mercer County Historical Society would be greatly appreciated.

Arrangements are conducted by Barbot Funeral Home, Beulah and Hazen.

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