Wolfgang Rihmland, who was surrounded by his loving family, passed from this world into the loving arms of his God on July 10, 2020. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Marion; his children, Randy (Jennifer) and Janine (Grady); and his grandchildren, Natalie, Anthony, Stephen, and Michael. He is also survived by his brother, Hans, and sister, Christina, both of whom live in Germany.
Wolfgang was born in 1934 in the former German Province of East Prussia. He survived World War II in Europe as a young boy, despite many harrowing and painful experiences along the way. He was able to complete his schooling, including nine years of English, as well as studies in mechanical engineering. Wolfgang always had an adventurous and courageous spirit to follow his heart and his dreams. So, when he was 22 years old, he created an opportunity to emigrate from Germany and come to the USA- Detroit, Michigan. He did so well that he found housing and everything was needed to bring his parents and three siblings to Detroit as well. This is when he began his love for cars, starting with his first car, a 1952 Chevy. He truly embraced American culture with all the arts and became quite the movie and music buff who knew intricate details and dates about so many American movies, actors, songs, and musicians.
Wolfgang joined the US Army in March 1958 and was honorably discharged in March 1960 when his tour of duty ended, with the rank of Specialist 5 in Information Operations and Intelligence. Upon leaving, he received a special Letter of Appreciation from the Lt. Col. McKenzie who was the Commander of the Regiment in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
During his professional career, he worked as an engineer in various capacities. From 1977 - 1998, he was a very successful President and CEO of the German machinery manufacturer, Kocks Pittsburgh Corporation. During that time, his career allowed him much travel throughout the USA, Canada, South America, Australia, New Zealand, and Germany.
When he retired, he finally had time to follow a calling to write books and articles on various subjects. He authored his first book, "The Art of Selling in America', and then wrote a fiction based on historical facts of World War II, "The Truth Lives On". He then wrote multiple other books, "The Good American", "A Memoir", "Condensed Account of World War II in Europe", and "Operation Hannibal." For some of these, he wrote both an English and a German version, and even submitted this last book to a German television producer in Cologne, in the hope that they would create a movie or televised documentary about such a significant naval rescue during World War II.
Wolfgang loved and was loved by the many people with whom he shared his kindness, his generosity, his knowledge and his time. Not only was he involved with various organizations (IGAR as one, in which he was the editor for this German-American newsletter), but also spend much time nurturing relationships with people throughout all of his many years, and most importantly his family. In 2006-2007, he went through the RCIA program and officially became a very dedicated and prayerful Catholic, even though he had attended that church for many years beforehand. He was faithful supporter of St. Ursula Church, which he attended since 1977. He will be missed dearly, but we know he is in heaven with his Lord and Savior.
A funeral mass will be held at St. Ursula Church on Friday, August 28th at 10:00am. He will be laid to rest at the National Cemeteries of the Alleghenies later that afternoon.
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