Stephen C. Reitz

                                        November 26, 1952 – October 15, 2023 

                    The Reitz family is saddened to share that Stephen C Reitz (age 70)

               of Black Forest, Colorado died suddenly of an undetermined illness.

               Born in Colorado, Stephen (Steve) was raised in Oklahoma, Costa Rica, Lebanon, 

               and Brazil before heading back to the States to enter college. After attending

               CSU (Fort Collins, Co), and The College of Wooster (Wooster, Ohio) he received 

               his Bachelor’s Degree majoring in Political Science. Days after graduation, he swore 

               into the Army (Fort Carson) and married his high school sweetheart, Elizabeth

               (Betz) Reitz. He then began his professional business career in 1977 as a Material Handler

               for Digital Equipment Corporation, Colorado Springs. During his years there, he advanced

              to Purchasing and Production Control Manager. He obtained his Master’s in Business 

             Administration from the University of Phoenix in 1986. In 1997, he worked as a Commodity 

             Team Leader for Allied Signal Aerospace (Olathe, Kansas), procuring and overseeing parts

             and inventory for their aerospace mission. 

                   Homesick for his beloved mountains, he returned home to work for Schlage Lock 

             (division of Ingersoll-Rand) in Colorado Springs and Security. There he supported 

             manufacturing at five facilities and enjoyed exchanging notes with his father, an Ingersoll-

             Rand mining engineer. In 2000, Steve moved on to work for Quantum Corporation as a 

             Supply Chain Manager and Materials and Logistics manager. There he worked his way up

             to Director of Media Storage, being responsible for the procurement, tracking, and shipment

            of their manufactured products. In 2008, he secured the position of Director of Procurement

            at Ricoh/InfoPrint Solutions (Boulder) where he and his team were responsible for direct

             and indirect procurement of products and parts for 36 countries.

                 Additionally, Steve worked for a local highway sign company and ended his career working

           for Proctor and Gamble as a Senior Technician, supporting the installation and maintenance of 

         Industrial chemical dispensers and equipment in a variety of restaurants and facility kitchens.

         During his career, he traveled to Malaysia, Europe, Hong Kong, and Japan. Wherever he worked, he

        developed lasting friendships and cared deeply for the teams under his supervision.

             At heart, Stephen was an avid outdoorsman. He enjoyed both small and big game

            hunting (bow, rifle, shotgun), fishing, kayaking, boating, and camping. He had a special 

            fondness for animals, which ultimately led to fostering over 300 dogs for the National 

           Mill Dog Rescue. He had a wide variety of hobbies, and had an insatiable appetite for reading.

           Besides his wife, Stephen leaves behind his 3 children, Amy (Craig) Hartelt, Jonathan (Jenni)

           Reitz, and Nathan (Shelly) Reitz. He has 8 grandchildren: Daniel, Piper, Finnley, Raylee, KC,

           Hunter, Naomi, and Jeremiah. His siblings include brother Mike and 2 sisters Tracy (Jim) 

           Stephenson and Jennifer (Bill) Groeneveld. He is preceded in death by his parents, John 

           and Carol Reitz. He will be missed by both family and friends.