Anita Elizabeth Reinebach

Anita Elizabeth Reinebach, 78, passed away on September 16, 2026. Her Father returned from service in Burma in WW2 and she was born May 11, 1948, in Bemidji, MN. Her childhood was spent with three sisters in Omaha, Nebraska where her father became a Bible College Professor and her mother a registered nurse.

By the age of eight she asked her father for the teacher's edition of the Third-Grade Reader sparking her life-long passion for teaching. In High School she was elected president of the Future Teachers of America Club. She also spent five summers as a worker/lifeguard at Clear Lake Christian Camp in Iowa.

Anita earned her Elementary Education degree at Iowa State University with credits from her father’s college, Faith Baptist. Her Master’s in Reading Instruction was earned at Cal State Hayward (East Bay), and her special education credential from U.C. Riverside. For 26 years Anita devoted her life to teaching at Christian and public schools. She also served as a reading specialist with special needs children, interspersed with many years of being a mother at home.

Music was one of the enduring threads of Anita’s life. Early piano lessons prepared her to be pianist for her high school orchestra and at church. She played clarinet in the Omaha Benson High School Marching Band, performing at President Lyndon Johnson’s Inaugural in 1965. She took voice lessons and sang alto in two college choirs, as well as in her Bible College traveling trio.

On June 8, 1973, Anita married Jim Reinebach, and became a devoted pastor's wife, her husband’s best friend, and his favorite pianist and singer. She had been an outspoken follower of Christ in her college years and became a leader of children and a support for women. She always used the Wordless Book to lead children to believe in Jesus as their Savior from sin.

Anita learned love of travel during childhood vacations at National Parks and ocean beaches. She honeymooned with Jim in Yosemite and two years later in Israel. They re-visited the National Parks and toured in Japan, China, Europe and Banf. Then Anita and Roxanne visited the British Isles.

Above all, Anita was a devoted follower of Christ. Her bibles and heart were well-underlined with treasured Scriptures. She encouraged people to follow Jesus and their dreams and empowered them to do so. She was a loving wife, mother, and grandmother. Her children call her blessed. She will be greatly missed. She is survived by her husband Jim, her children Robert, Richmond, Roxanne, and Ray Reinebach, by her three grandsons Rylan, Caden, and Jackson Reinebach, and by two sisters, Dorathy Wambach and Sherri Galmish.

Visitation will be held at Glen Abbey Memorial Park and Mortuary, 3838 Bonita Road, Bonita, CA 91902, US, on October 4, 2026, from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm. The Funeral Service will follow at the same location on October 4, 2026, from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm. A Committal Service will be held afterward at Glen Abbey Memorial Park and Mortuary on October 4, 2026, from 2:30 pm to 3:15 pm.