Charles “Charlie” Peter Reichensperger, 88, St. Cloud

January 15, 1933 - January 18, 2021

Charles “Charlie” Peter Reichensperger, age 88, passed away on Monday, January 18th, 2021 at the VA Medical Center in Saint Cloud, MN. He was able to have his immediate family surround him with love before he finished the race and gained his true reward in heaven.

Visitation will be at Williams-Dingmann Funeral Home in St. Cloud on Thursday, January 21 from 4pm to 8pm. Mass of Christian burial will be held at 10:30am on Friday, January 22 at Saint Mary’s Cathedral, St. Cloud with visitation one hour prior to services. Immediately following the service a meal will be served at the St. Cloud VFW Post 428 for those who are comfortable attending. Be mindful that Covid restrictions, social distancing and mask wearing, will apply. Burial will be private and held at a later date at the State of Minnesota Veterans Cemetery, Little Falls.

Charles was born on January 15, 1933, in the family home in Waite Park, MN to Roman John and Theresa (Meinz) Reichensperger. He grew up in Waite Park, where he attended Catholic School and then graduated from Technical High School in Saint Cloud.

He joined the US Army and this is where he started his career as an X-Ray Technologist. After serving in the Korean War, he settled in St. Paul, MN and began working at the VA Medical Center in Minneapolis. He met Constance “Connie” Forstner and they married on August 22, 1964. They moved in 1965 to make their home in Saint Cloud where he worked at the VA Medical Center continuing as “X-Ray Charlie”. He retired from the VA and then worked for Stock TV and Appliance, which became Schmidt TV and Appliance until the store was sold.

Charlie enjoyed many sports and was a referee and umpire. It was here where he made many of his lifelong friendships. He officiated while working in the Twin Cities and then across Minnesota during the “Dick Putz Era”. He officiated men’s, women’s, girls and boys, high school, college and amateur baseball, softball, basketball, and football. Charlie was one of the first officials to call Saint Cloud State Women’s Basketball and Softball games with his partner, Jim Harlander.

After retiring from officiate work, Charlie stayed connected by volunteering for sports activities. He had a special interest in Saint John’s University Athletics. You could find him working in the old and new press boxes for football and notably the head volunteer coordinator for the basketball official’s table for Coach Jim Smith. Charlie also volunteered for JM Ushers at Saint Cloud State Men’s Hockey games. If he was not volunteering, you could find Charlie in the stands cheering on “his” teams.

Charlie was active and supported many Veterans and community activities. He was a member of the Waite Park American Legion, Post 428 and life member of Chapter #9 Disabled American Veterans, St. Cloud. He was a founding member of Saint Cloud REACT (Radio Emergency Action Communication Teams). In support of keeping the community safe, Charlie was a member of Stearns County SKYWARN and Benton County SKYWARN and spent many years as the volunteer safety coordinator for the Saint Cloud Wheel Wings Water Festival Parade. He was a member of Saint Mary’s Cathedral.

Charlie is survived by his wife of 56 years, Constance “Connie”, his children, Lia Nistler (Bob Melin) of Saint Cloud, MN, Kay (Frank) Jackson of Clovis, California, Charles “Chuck” (Martha) of Saint Cloud, MN and Diane (Keith) Nohner of Watkins, MN. Brother, Eugenio “Gene” (Cathy) Reichensperger of Saint Cloud, MN and sister-in-law Karen Reichensperger of Ely, MN. Grandchildren, Tim Hoefer (Tamera Yurczyk), Nichole and Alex Gonzalez-Giraldo and Jacob and Madison Nohner.
Great Grandchildren, Karina Lynn and Braydon Terry Hoefer. He also leaves behind many nephews and nieces.

Charlie was preceded in death by parents, his daughter Karin, sister, Julienne Schreifels and brothers, Fred and John.

The family is grateful to the healthcare staff and employees at the VA Medical Center in Saint Cloud who were responsible for his care and the behind the scenes care, especially his care staff in Bldg. 49-2. Thank you for the compassionate and family centered care for Charlie for almost 4 years, video visits on Monday nights with the great grand babies and for being so kind to him and our family in his last days with us. May God bless you greatly for your work for our Veteran