Kevin Riehle

Kevin Raymond Riehle, our beloved husband, daddy, Papa, son, brother, mentor, teacher, composer, maestro, friend - left this earth on Thursday, the 8th of September 2022 to spread his music even wider and direct the choirs of the heavens. He was 65 years of age.

Kevin’s passing leaves a deep hole of grief and an even greater well of gratitude for all he was, everything he gave, and the legacies he left behind.

Kevin made music his entire life, from the grand to the intimate, from Ohio to New York to England and France, and across Texas for 40 years. He was the director of the parish choir at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, the founder of Cantare Houston, and had recently retired as the director of choral activities at Taylor High School, where he shaped the lives of countless students for 14 years. He was an accomplished composer and published numerous works for choirs young and old, great and small. He directed choirs at Carnegie Hall, in all corners of Texas, throughout the country and across Europe, always with the same passion and energy for not just the music, but the singers themselves.

He loved many things, but his passions were his family, his wife and kids, music, walking with his dog Chloe, doing the crossword in pen!, poetry, mandelschnitten cookies, the Astros, reading the New Yorker, and awful dad jokes; but probably greatest of all, his grandkids. He was a loving, adventurous, hilarious, and generous Papa and they will miss beating him at Yahtzee, swinging endlessly with him on the front yard swing, watching movies, pounding on the piano together, laughing and wandering through wooded and concrete trails.

Kevin was born the 11th of December 1956 in the small farm town of Edgerton, Ohio to Ray and Joan Riehle, the oldest of 5 siblings, where music, family and faith were central to everything. A graduate of Ohio Northern and Southern Methodist Universities, Kevin created a lifetime legacy of growth and excellence in worship through music that took him from Edgerton to Dallas, Lubbock, Tyler and finally Houston in 1996.

Kevin is survived by his beloved wife Norma, his children Lindsey Rae and Barksdale Hortenstine, Kim and Chris Greene, Kurt and Mariana Wallace, Dena and Robert Wang, and Mitchell Wallace; and his 7 grandchildren Hanna Ray; Olivia Ray and Dylan Jane; Juniper, Cecily and Lyric; and William; and his constant companion Chloe. He is also survived by his mother Joan Riehle of Edgerton, OH, his siblings Karyn and Tom Schneider, Kristine and Jerome Bartley, Kermit and Denise Riehle, Kyle and Trish Riehle, and 11 nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his father Raymond Riehle.

Kevin once said, “the question is not how much you love, but simply, if you love.” He epitomized love. His love leaves us more confident and a bit brighter and with the knowledge that the proper time to clap is on beats 2 and 4, the time to punch down the bread dough, why Blue Bell ice cream will always reign supreme, that it’s never too late to start something new (even if it’s hard), that love, compassion & empathy should guide us, and with a profound appreciation for the value of music & its omnipresent impact in our daily lives.

A memorial service and celebration of Kevin’s life is to be conducted at two o’clock in the afternoon on Monday, the 19th of September, in the sanctuary of St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, 717 Sage Road in Houston, where The Rev. Dr. Russell J. Levenson, Jr., Rector, and The Rev. John R. Bentley, Pastoral Associate, are to officiate..

In lieu of customary remembrances, memorial contributions may be made in his memory to the music program at St. Martin’s.