Dean Rodger Reuteler

He is preceded in passing by the love of his life, Kristin Schaffer.

Dean's Legacy will Live on through his children, Kate (Joseph) Pribula, and Tyler Dean Reuteler; grandchildren, Roman (4), Easton (2), and Hudson (6 months); parents, Irene and Rodger; siblings, Heidi (Dane) Hathaway, and Erik (Elena) Reuteler.

A Celebration of Dean's Life will take place after the new year. Please check back for details to follow. Please share your fond memories and photos of Dean below for the Reuteler family. These messages will be added to a tribute book for the family later this year.

A Message from Mom below:

"At the hospital a nurse told me I was going to have a 7 ½ lb., red headed baby boy and so it was; he was born in a rush of activity beginning his life with colic. But that subsided and he was all ready for the next adventure. Seeing him in his playpen, you saw constant motion with hands, feet, eyes and head. He took in everything he could see and more. He was rolling over at 6 weeks (due to his constant movements, I’m sure), sitting up at 4 months, crawling at 5 months, walking at 9 months. Life was just waiting for him and he was on it.

As a little boy his curiosity led him in many directions. His rocking horse was not just for rocking, he would get it going and soon was bounding down the hall to the living room and beyond. Curiosity also led him to detach the spring on Heidi’s bath table and put both ends in a socket. This caused second and third degree burns on both hands and a life time of interesting scars. I was concerned his bound hands would keep him from activities, and a bored Dean was a challenge. However, he quickly learned that by grabbing things on both sides he could move them however he wanted and it worked fine. No slowdown of activities at all.

When we moved to New Hope, he met Billy Thayer who lived across the street. They were two days apart in age and both loved sports. They would sit on the curb talking sports and statistics endlessly, planning their careers as a future Twin. The were friend all his life. Another friend had a small bike and he would borrow it to practice until he learned to ride. When he got his own bike at 7 his world broadened. He had a wonderful group of friends in New Hope, many of whom had siblings who were friends of Heidi and Erik. New Hope was a wonderful place to raise our family.

I think the only thing quicker than Dean (his Nana called him a “white tornado”) was our little poodle Beau. He walked past Dean one evening when Dean was lying on the floor watching TV and without missing a step, he got the gum in Dean’s mouth into his own. The dog was unbelievable. This produced a big belly laugh. The kids found that if you held Beau up to a fly, zap the fly was gone. Best zapper ever.

One of his favorite toys were Lego’s. He accumulated large quantities of them over the years, thanks to Santa. It was hours of entertainment. After stepping on them a few times, I got a sturdy box to contain them. Our evening TV was now accompanied by him swishing through the box looking for a particular brick he needed. They were all bricks at that time so headlights on vehicles were tiny yellow bricks and wheels were white bricks with black interiors. People were pretty square. He created many things such as airplanes, trucks, cities and more.

He became involved in hockey early. Jon Hammer lived next door and his dad, Bob, wanted the boys to join together. There were about 4. We got Dean tiny skates and were off the Northwood Park to get in a bit of practice. Soon he and Jon were signed up and we were going to games. Watching those tots on wobbly ankles, or in piles on the ice here and there was a hoot. He continued hockey through 9th grade ending up the last few years as goalie. They took a few championships. He loved to watch hockey too. The North Stars especially. He loved the Twins more, tho. Also, he became an intense and often disappointed Viking’s fan, we all know that feeling. Hope never died. The 1987 Twins World Series win was a real highlight for him. He wanted to see a Super Bowl, too. ” Just once before I die” he’d say. He was good in sports and played baseball, skied, played hockey and many pick-up games of boot hockey and baseball in our driveway, yard and the church yard behind us. He also looked forward to opening fishing and cabin weekends. Another interest that took root in his teens and continued through his entire life was the guitar. He took lessons at Schmitt’s and from then on there was always a guitar nearby.

He was a good student and worked quickly on assignments. And, as his teachers often told me, he moved on to “interact” with other students when he finished. It was hard to quell his internal motivation machine.

After high school he attended N.E.I. getting an Associates Degree and graduating with honors. This served him well in his working life.

His adult life was difficult due to addiction which caused relationship problems but he kept trying and hoping to achieve sobriety and to regain his life. His relationship with his children was important and he was hoping to heal it. He had had success before he died in that he was sober and working again. We are grateful that he and Tyler were able to go to his friend Dan’s fundraising gathering a few days before he died where he reconnected with so many old friends. He was very happy. Because of that event, his last few days were good ones. His health was declining but his spirits were soaring. We are grateful for the welcome he experienced that day. We hope for him to carry this happiness on to his next journey. We know God loved him even more than we did. He is at peace.

Love from Mom and Dad"

Memories from Kate, "Dad was very intelligent, and he excelled in his career. He was so proud of his kids and grandkids. He loved sports- the Twins, Vikings & the wild! He was very knowledgeable in sports stats! He also loved to “jam” with his friends. He was very talented with the guitar. He loved the Duluth area, spent a lot of time there growing up - camping, skiing, trips etc. His favorite food was Lasagna hands down! I think one of the biggest things I’ll miss for me personally is him calling me “little girl”. One of the good memories I had growing up was sitting on his belly as a little girl and watching the Simpsons before dinner."