Paul Harvey Rechnitzer, 99

Paul Harvey Rechnitzer died Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017, in Sandpoint, Idaho. He was born on July 5, 1918, in Evanston, Ill., the son of Hartvig and Christine Sorensen Rechnitzer, both of whom had recently come to the United States from Denmark. Paul often referred to himself as “a Dane born in Chicago.”

The family moved to Kansas City in 1928. Paul became an Eagle Scout in 1934 and graduated from Southwest High School in 1935. He immediately went to work in the grain and stock brokerage business before finding a job with Phillips Petroleum Company, which lasted 36 years. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in August 1942, and commissioned a second lieutenant in the Quartermaster Corps on March 18, 1943. He was assigned to the 565th Quartermaster Service Battalion, which later became four separate companies. As the 3225th Quartermaster Service Company, they operated a railhead in southern England in support of the troops assembling for the invasion of France. At that point he was company commander. On the continent the unit was attached to the Ninth Army, earning three battle stars beginning with the Battle of the Bulge and continuing into Germany. Paul was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for service in Mannheim during the early days of the occupation. Returning home a captain, he joined the Army Reserve and continued his military career which lasted for 23 years, retiring in 1966 as a lieutenant colonel.

While serving in England, he met an Army nurse, Alice Katherine Wentz. They were married in North Carolina in 1946, a marriage that lasted 53 years until her death. Returning to his job with Phillips, he moved from Kansas City to Salt Lake City. At that time he was chief clerk in the Salt Lake City division office, became a major in the Army Reserve and president of the Frank Phillips Men’s Club. He was transferred to Bartlesville as manager of supervisory training and safety for the sales department, later assistant to the general sales manager. He became active in the Lions Club. He served one term as president of the First Church of Christ, Scientist. In 1955 he was transferred to Spokane as a marketing assistant, becoming division manager in 1962. While in Spokane he served on Mayor Fosseen’s advisory board, and on the committee that developed Spokane International Airport. He was active with the Army Command and General Staff, graduating from the program at Fort Leavenworth as a lieutenant colonel. An active boater, he was a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary, becoming Commodore for the Inland Empire.

In 1964, Phillips’ Spokane office was closed, and Paul was transferred to Denver as division manager, an assignment that lasted 13 years. While in Denver he was president and then chairman of the board of Junior Achievement of Metro Denver; president of the Colorado Petroleum Council; president of American Fertilizer and Chemical Company, and a board member of Opportunities Industrialization. His responsibilities with Phillips expanded as he became area sales manager of a territory that included all or part of 11 western states, Hawaii, and Alaska. While in Denver he learned to fly, acquired his own plane and went on to become co-founder of the International Comanche Society. He took early retirement in 1977 and moved to Idaho.

Paul and Katherine purchased land on the Pend Oreille River. He proudly reminded everyone that the site was called “Seneacquoteen.” That is where he built, as general contractor and worker, a home he called Kristiania. He and Katherine lived there until Katherine passed away in 2000 after a long illness. It was in Idaho that Paul became immersed in politics and began 18 years of service to the Republican party as precinct committeeman for the Markham Precinct and Bonner County chairman. He also served three years as president of the Bonner General Hospital Foundation, following in the footsteps of Marion Ebbett. He work with elected officials in the county office and served a number of times on boards called to resolve personnel problems. He served on the board of the Bonner County Historical Society and a term as president. During a brief stint in real estate he was Realtor of the Year.

Paul was a 32nd degree Scottish Rite Mason, a life member of the Reserve Officers Association, a life member of the National Eagle Scout Association, a lifelong model railroader and a builder of all sorts of models, a collector of toy soldiers and Phillips 66 memorabilia. He became an avid genealogist assembling The Wentz Family of North Carolina, The Danish Rechnitzers, and Sorensen. He wrote a weekly column for the Daily Bee for almost three years, several cookbooks, and three works of local history: “Always on the Other Side, the Story of the Bonner County Ferries”; “Take the Train to Town, the Story of the Railroads of Bonner County, Idaho”; and “Corbin’s Road, Spokane International Railway”.

It was on a trip to Europe that Paul met the new light of his life, Patti Bradshaw. They were on a cruise along the canals of Belgium and Holland, studying Flemish art. Patti and Paul were married in Texas on Feb. 11, 2001. Together they built a home in Golden Meadows, Sagle.

Paul is remembered locally for his role in the annual Sandpoint Fourth of July parade, where he rode in his 1945 Ford Jeep, lettered for his World War II Quartermaster company. Within the last few years, he became a proud Quiet Birdman and member of the Experimental Aircraft Association, enjoying the fellowship of pilots and aviation enthusiasts. He is fondly remembered by his family for his lifelong love of music.

Paul is survived by his dear wife, Patti; his three daughters, Karen Pope, Kathy Rechnitzer Kelly, and Kristine Uravich; granddaughters Alice Kelly Linker, Anne Kelly, Julia Uravich and Mary Uravich Gandy; grandson Alexander Pope IV; four great-grandchildren; and stepchildren Bonnie Bradshaw and husband Kevin Hannam, Beth Bradshaw, and Bruce Bradshaw.

Calling hours will be held on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017 from noon until 6 p.m. at Coffelt’s Funeral Chapel. Memorial services will be conducted at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 4, 2017, in Coffelt’s Funeral Chapel with military honors. Interment will be at Pinecrest Memorial Park. His good friend Dale Coffelt will be in charge of the arrangements.

The family suggests memorials in Paul’s name to an endowment he helped create, the nonprofit North Idaho High School Aerospace Program, 506 S. Boyer Avenue, Sandpoint, Idaho 83864.

Family and friends are invited to sign Paul’s online guest book at www.coffeltfuneral.com.

Arrangements are under the care of Coffelt Funeral Service.