- Date Of Birth: June 12, 1927
- Date Of Death: January 25, 2021
- State: Pennsylvania
Anthony “Tony” G. Reiser Sr., 93, of Bethlehem, passed away Monday, January 25, 2021. He was the widower of Elizabeth “Betty Jane” (Collins) Reiser. Born on June 12, 1927 in Bethlehem, PA, Tony was the son of Anthony J. Reiser and Margaret (King) Reiser.
As a young man, he graduated from a technical school which provided him with skills that he would leverage later in life.
Tony started his career installing kitchens and bathrooms for Willey Brothers. He then spent the rest of his career self-employed as a home improvement contractor, performing various remodeling projects, many of which led him to gain electrical and plumbing skills. Hidden inside the walls of many Bethlehem homes you can find his signature on studs and joists, as he would often “autograph” his work. His perfectionism was legendary, and he made many happy customers.
As his family expanded to six children, he focused his efforts on being a great role model, father, and husband. He was an active member of The Knights of Columbus and Notre Dame of Bethlehem Parrish. While facing the responsibility and time constraints of owning his own business, he still supported local schools by volunteering to build stage sets, banners, and carnival concessions. With limited free time, vacations were rare. But there was one particularly epic trip, where, in true “Griswold” fashion, he loaded his wife and six unruly kids (aged 8 to 17) into a station wagon and drove to Florida, a journey that should have earned him a medal of valor. As his children grew older and started their own families, he gladly spent much of his spare time remodeling all their homes.
As he entered retirement, he focused on his new passion for kite building and flying, becoming a charter member of the Lehigh Valley Kite Society. He travelled to many kite festivals all along the eastern sea-board, including the Outer Banks, NC, Ocean City, Maryland (from which he received the key to the city for Featured Kite Maker at their annual kite festival), and Washington, D. C. (from which he received several kite-building awards from the Smithsonian Associates and National Air and Space Museum). This hobby became an obsession that earned him awards and new friendships, but more importantly, instilled a youthful vigor that enabled him to “not let the old man in” (he was still flying kites on beaches at the age of 92!). Many of these events were attended by his wife, children, and grandchildren, thus providing more loving remembrances for the family.
The life that Tony lived is testimony to his well-deserved membership in what is known as The Greatest Generation.
His memories will carry on through his surviving children, Jim Reiser and wife Eileen, Tim Reiser, Tina Bauer, Tony Reiser, Jr. and wife Rosemary all of Bethlehem and Billy Reiser of Durham, NC.; nine grandchildren and six great grandchildren. Tony was predeceased by daughter Beth Downing and sisters Lucille Mitchell and Mary Kay Gardner.
