Eleanor D. Reinhard

Eleanor Reinhard, nee Rast, passed away October 21, 2022, just a few months shy of her 90th birthday. Ellie is survived by two younger sisters, Martha Hosford and Linda Shute, her two daughters, Amy and Molly, a step-daughter Marsha Moffitt, one “very good son-in-law” Cliff Struhar, and her cousin Don Biddlecombe, who when in Florida for the winter, walked down to her house nearly every day for coffee and a morning chat.

Ellie didn’t get around much anymore, but she rarely missed her weekly hair appointment with her dear Juliana, who had been looking after her for over 30 years. She also rarely missed an episode of Jeopardy, where she and her sister Linda would text commentary back and forth.

Ellie grew up in Hamburg, New York, graduated high school there, and attended nursing school at the Deaconess Hospital in Buffalo. She and her fellow classmate Patty, who she still texted almost daily, were tapped to run the first hospital recovery room in Buffalo, a brand new concept in the 1950s.

Ellie was born with an adventurous spirit, and she wasn’t afraid of anything, so it was easy for her to set off to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, for a job with ARAMCO in 1957, ahead of her fiancé, Dr. Mel Reinhard. They were married eighteen months later in Bahrain, an island in the Persian Gulf, and both of their daughters were born in Dhahran. Like most ARAMCONS, they traveled extensively through the Middle East, India, and Europe at a time before the modern tourism boom. Old photos show them nearly alone at the Eiffel Tower, walking down empty streets in Ephesus, and sailing down the Nile.

They left ARAMCO in 1968 and came back to the US, eventually settling for good in Clearwater in 1986. Mel passed away in 1989, and Ellie continued to work as a nurse on the Bloodmobile for the old Hunter Blood Center, where she had a wonderful time and still kept up with her old coworkers. She retired for good in 1999 and spent years traveling with Amy, Molly, and Cliff, seeing Machu Picchu, Easter Island, and best of all, a taking a trip to China with her sister Martha and brother-in-law Ron.

Ellie loved a lot of things, but she may have loved the Tampa Bay Rays most of all. She watched every game from her recliner, exchanging texts with her friend Louise in Boston when they were playing the Red Sox. Looking for her cardboard cutout in Section 141 every home game made the pandemic lockdown more bearable. The Rays have lost quite a fan, and her friends and family have lost a wonderful soul.

In lieu of flowers, consider donating to the Neighborly Network of Pinellas County at neighborly.org. They provide adult day services, transportation services, and run the Meals On Wheels program for our seniors.