Daniel E. Reichen

Daniel E. Reichen, 84, of Utica, died surrounded by his loved ones on January 26, 2020 at Illinois Valley Community Hospital in Peru.

Mass of Christian burial will be at 10:00 AM Saturday in St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Utica with Rev. Mike Driscoll officiating. Burial will be in St. Mary’s Cemetery in Utica. Visitation will be Friday from 4:00 until 7:00 PM in the Hurst Funeral Home in La Salle with a wake service at 4:00 PM.

Daniel was born in Schwer on December 25, 1935 to Rudolph and Katherine (Schafer) Reichen. He married Dorene Maggio Roach on July 15, 1964. She died March 21, 2014. Daniel graduated from Hopkins High School in Granville and La Salle-Peru-Oglesby Junior College. He was a civil engineer for Illinois Department of Transportation for 42 years and then a Quality Control Manager for Advanced Asphalt Company for 5 years. Daniel enjoyed woodworking and his biggest project was building his own home in Waltham where he raised his family. He also enjoyed the outdoors, square dancing, and traveling. He was a Cub Scout leader, coached Little League Baseball, and was one of the longest volunteers as a Red Coat for IVCH from 2006 until 2019 where he was logged in for 3000 hours. He loved his grandchildren and great-grandchildren and he was their biggest fan. He was a member of St. Mary’s Church in Utica and the Utica Knights of Columbus. He also spent his last 5 years enjoying his life with Eileen Watts and her family.

Daniel is survived by four daughters; Lorene (Art Urbanc) Christopherson of La Salle, Vicki (Nick) Zec of Bradenton, FL, Mary (Ronald) Unger of Sarasota, FL, and Catherine Smudzinski of La Salle, one son; Daniel (Paula) Reichen of Springfield, his loving companion, Eileen Watts of Utica, 13 grandchildren, and 16 great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his wife Dorene, his parents, two brothers; Herbert and Walter Reichen, and three sisters; Esther Gingerich, Edna Johnson, and Irma Tarman.

Pallbearers will be his grandchildren.

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