- Date Of Birth: June 12, 1974
- Date Of Death: December 21, 2021
- State: Colorado
Matthew Jason Reichel, age 47, died of natural causes at his home in Aurora, Colorado on December 21, 2021. Matt was born on June 12, 1974 in Augusta, Georgia. He moved to Colorado in 1983 and lived in both Greeley and Aurora. He graduated from Greeley West High School in 1992 and received his bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Northern Colorado in 1996.
During his college years, Matt ran the coffee corner in the basement of Kepner Hall on the UNC campus. That experience sparked his interest in the hospitality industry and after graduation he managed the snack shack at Spring Hill Golf Course in Aurora and eventually moved to his career position as general manager of the Saddle Rock Grill at Saddle Rock golf course in Aurora. It was there that he gave full meaning to the concept of hospitality as he helped coordinate a variety of events, arranged buffets for Easter and Mother’s Day (experiences that his family, and everyone else, greatly enjoyed) and, most importantly, met with his many friends.
Born in Augusta, home of the Masters golf tournament, Matt’s first home was an apartment some 500 yards (and many trees) from Hole 5 (Magnolia) of the Augusta National Golf Club. His family suspects that hearing the roar of the crowd through the open balcony door during Masters week encouraged his love of golf. He played on the Greeley West high school golf team and continued playing on courses throughout Colorado and in Las Vegas, Palm Springs, and Wyoming until his untimely death. His first hole-in-one, as recorded in his grandpa Joe’s list of significant events, was on June 18, 1998.
Matt will be profoundly missed by his many friends and especially so by his wife Caitlin Harmel (Aurora), father Philip Reichel (Greeley), mother Paula (Hauschild) Adams (Savannah, GA), step-mother Eva Jewell (Greeley), step-father Michael Adams (Savannah, GA), brother Scott Reichel (Firestone), sister Michelle Cook (Augusta, GA), grandmother Virginia Reichel (Windsor), uncle David Reichel (San Diego, CA), sister-in-law Tammy Rollins (Firestone), niece Estella Reichel (Firestone), nephew Andrew Reichel (Firestone), niece Ashlea Lucero (Moriarty, NM), nephews Zackary Ortiz (Aurora), Tyson Davis (Thornton), Kevin Harmel (Aurora), Gabriel Lucero (Moriarty, NM), and closest friend Sal La Rosa (Aurora). He was preceded in death by his grandfathers Joseph Reichel and Richard O. Hauschild, his grandmother Ruth Hauschild, and his uncle Richard C. Hauschild.
