Gale Ruben Reimer

Gale Reuben Reimer passed away peacefully on March 21 at the age of 93. He died in his Tarzana, California, home surrounded by loving family members. Gale was born in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, the third of seven children born to Oscar Paul and Irene Reimer. He married the love of his life, Donna DeDecker on February 14, 1953 _ it was a Valentine’s Day wedding. They were married for 63 years. Gale and Donna established their home in California in 1953 where they raised seven children. Gale had eleven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren that he greatly enjoyed.

Gale enlisted in the NAVY as an Aviation Cadet in 1943 at age 17. He started active duty in 1944 and was trained as a pilot during World War II. The war ended before he could be assigned overseas. He attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison on the G.I. Bill and graduated in 1949 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. His first professional position was with the Western Condensing Company in research, working on pharmaceutical products from whey. At that time the Western Condensing Company was well entrenched with the Army during the war producing lactose to make penicillin. As a direct result of Gale’s work, the company patented a powdered milk that had none of the unpleasant characteristics of other brands. The Carnation Company eventually acquired the Western Condensing Company, and Gale was directly hired by the company as a lead engineer with the Instant Products Division. Success with dry milk inspired Carnation researchers to develop more powdered foods with Gale at the helm. Instant cocoa was introduced in 1956, followed in 1961 by Coffeemate ®, today the leading non-dairy creamer. A 1960 study showed Carnation the increasing popularity of convenience foods, so the company developed more products including Instant Breakfast, a milk additive/fortifier derived from the Peebles/Reimer technology. Gale spent 40 years at the Carnation Company with a career culminating in the position of Chief Engineer of the Instant Products Division. The company was acquired by the Nestle Corporation, Inc. in 1988. Gale retired in 1990.

Gale, a devout Catholic, had been extremely active in his church and served as President of the Holy Name Union for the Los Angeles Archdiocese and was the Governor of the Los Angeles Council of Serra International. He was longtime treasurer for the San Fernando Valley Serra Club. Both Gale and Donna were active for over 50 years in their local parish, Our Lady of Grace Church, serving as volunteers in numerous roles over the years.

Gale loved the Dodgers and in his later years never missed a game. He enjoyed sailing, house projects, big band music, collecting coins and stamps, crossword puzzles and cards but mostly enjoyed spending time with his many family members. Gale was “sharp as a tack” until the day he died. We thank God for this special gift.

We will greatly miss Gale but remain so proud of his protection and leadership of his entire extended family, especially Donna and his seven children. He was an exemplary provider to those he loved with strong mentorship and great generosity. Gale’s children and grandchildren/great grandchildren brought out his reserved sense of humor and playfulness, which was a warming factor in his life.

Gale is preceded in death by his loving wife and partner Donna, and is survived by seven children: Neil Reimer of Honolulu, HI (m. Carol Jackson), Therese Reimer Agnew of Porter Ranch, CA, Carol Clark of Roseburg, OR (m. Stephen Clark),, Joan Saveland of Sacramento, CA (m. Lee Saveland), Beverly Colgate of Santa Barbara, CA (m. John Colgate), Daniel Reimer of Chatsworth, CA (m. Charlene Wong), Mary Jo Reimer Weissman of Agoura Hills, CA (m. Aaron Weissman) and eleven grandchildren: Claire Reimer, Tim Reimer, Alexander Peckinpaugh, Sean Peckinpaugh, Donna (Clark) Looper, Joel Clark, Benjamin Weissman, Peter Weissman, Jenevieve Weissman, Ethan Saveland, Rachel Reimer and five great-grandchildren: Logan Peckinpaugh, Brianna Peckinpaugh, Kaylynne Peckinpaugh, Savannah Peckinpaugh, and Julian Baca Reimer. Younger Brother, David “PeeWee” Reimer of Wisconsin, and sister, Maureen Miller, Wisconsin, and sister-in-law Yvonne Vandenberg, Wisconsin and numerous nieces and nephews also survive him.

Gale is also preceded in death by his father, Oscar Paul Reimer and mother, Irene Reimer, a sister and three brothers; Ruth Reimer Sielski, Marvin Reimer, Reverend Elroy Reimer, Reverend Ronald Reimer.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all services are private.