Galen Van Reimer Obituary (1933 - 2015)

GALEN VAN REIMER, beloved husband, father, brother, and friend to many, passed away March 22, 2015 in Tucson, AZ following a brief illness. He is survived by his wife Agnes to whom he was married for 60 years, and his sister Barbara Dobson and husband Eddie, brother-in-law Kenneth Limbacher and wife Helen, cousin Gordon Reimer and wife Dixie, daughter-in-law Renee Reimer, granddaughters Marisa and Alix, and many nieces and nephews, and great nieces and nephews. He was preceeded in death by his beloved son Rod, his brother Bob, his mother Stella and his father Ben. GALEN was born in Corn, OK December 15,1933. He moved to Nooksack, WA as a young boy with his family. He graduated in 1951 from Nooksack Valley High School where he was an athlete and enjoyed a brief stint with the semi-pro Deming Loggers baseball team. He went on to graduate in 1958 from Western Washington University after serving in the U.S. Army where he had the opportunity to play baseball with the 39th Regiment All-Army team while stationed in Germany. While at Western Washington, he played with the semi-pro Belllingham Bells baseball team. GALEN had a 30 year teaching and coaching career, interrupted only when he earned his masters degree from Weslyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. Galen taught mathematics and coached at Mt. Baker, Nooksack Valley, and Seahome High Schools, retiring from teaching and coaching in 1989. While teaching and coaching, he was a seasonal U.S. Immigration Inspector and after retiring from teaching he worked full time with the U.S. Immigration Service until 1994. Galen also managed the Birch Bay Village community golf course from 1980 to 1997. In retirement Galen and Aggie spent their winters at their home in Saddlebrook, in Tucson, AZ and their summers in Birch Bay Village in Blaine, WA. A memorial service and reception will be held at 11a.m. on Thursday, July 2, 2015 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church and burial to follow at Bayview Cemetery, Bellingham, WA. Messages of condolence may be sent via Vistoso Funeral Home at www.vistosofh.com. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Whatcom County Humane Society at www.whatcomhumane.org.