Timothy Joseph McReynolds

Tim was born in Lincoln, NE on January 11, 1944, the third of the four children of Clinton and Marie Shields McReynolds. In Omaha, he attended St. Philip Neri Elementary School, Sacred Heart High School and graduated from Creighton Prep. He went to college at the University of Nebraska – Omaha, Creighton University and received his law degree from Creighton University Law School.

Tim married Jan Labedz on September 3, 1966. They raised four children: Amy Barry of Omaha, T.J. McReynolds of Omaha, Michaela Smith (Terry) of Chandler, AZ, and Sean McReynolds (Sally) of Norwell, MA.

Tim took pride in being a risk taker and problem solver. Among the many projects he developed were Shadow Ridge Country Club and The Ridges housing development in Omaha. He was instrumental in the planning and growth of the pioneering internet brokerage firm TD Ameritrade, founded by Joe Ricketts, as well as the successful expansion of Willie Theisen’s Godfather’s Pizza chain. He became interested in solid waste disposal and helped found Resource Recovery, Inc., a Nebraska land-fill operation, and helped fuel the growth of Allied Waste Industries, Inc., now Republic Services. Along with Jan, he also founded a number of computer software companies.

With a natural inclination toward mathematics, Tim initially gravitated toward computer programming and then went into law and business. He had a surpassing intellect for generating creative solutions to seemingly intractable problems, a characteristic described as a "genius" by Ricketts’ in his recent book, “The Harder You Work, The Luckier You Get”. Ricketts' inscribed Tim’s personal copy of this book; “Tim – who saved the Company in 1975-76 when no one else had the vision to do so.”

Golf and basketball were among his favorite leisure pursuits. In his later years, he especially enjoyed playing in poker tournaments around the country and online, earning three World Series of Poker rings. He took great pride in being the oldest player in many tournament finals.

Tim led an active social life with his family and many friends and reveled in his grandchildren: Joyce Harrell; Jackson and Emma Barry; Symone, Amarie, J.R., Bobby and Micah Smith; and Molly, Jimmy, Marty and Jack McReynolds.

He was preceded in death by children Angela Marie and Brian Patrick; both parents; and his older sister, Sr. Sally Ann McReynolds.

Tim is survived by Jan, his children and grandchildren, and brothers Rev. Eugene McReynolds and Mike McReynolds (Marilyn), along with a multitude of nieces and nephews.

A celebration of Tim’s life will be held on January 12, 2020 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Shadow Ridge Country Club, 1501 South 188 Plaza Omaha, NE 68130.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made in Tim’s honor to the Siena Francis House, Mount Michael Abbey, or the Nebraska Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

Donation information may be found on their websites:

https://sienafrancis.org/

https://mountmichael.org/

https://ncbvi.nebraska.gov/