Joseph Rineer, Sr.

Born: 10/2/1926
Died: 5/11/2013

Mr. Joseph Rineer, Sr., known fondly as “Sunno,” age 86, of Wilmington, DE, formerly of Castle Hills in New Castle, passed away on Saturday, May 11, 2013.
A native Delawarean, Mr. Rineer was born in Wilmington on October 2, 1926, the youngest of eleven children born to the late Grover Rineer and Florence Merritt Rineer. He proudly served his country in the US Marine Corps in the South Pacific Theatre during World War II. In civilian life, he made his career with the DuPont Company, where he worked for 35 years until his retirement as the production supervisor at the company’s Edgemoor site in 1985.
Mr. Rineer had a great affinity for animals throughout his life and was well known for the tender care he lavished on countless homeless and stray animals over the years. He was also greatly admired as a gifted trainer, driver, and owner of champion harness racing horses.
His beloved wife, Helen J. Stecher Rineer, passed away in 2009. He is survived by his daughter, Joanne R. Patterson (George) of Wilmington; son, Joseph Rineer, Jr. (Debra) of Dover; sister, Margaret McCall of Smyrna; grandchildren, Stephenie Daza, Wendy Walls, and Joseph M. Rineer (Jennifer); and great grandchildren, Noah and Cole Miller, Mattox, Gavin, and Ainsley Rineer, and Sydney Walls.
A funeral service will be held at 10 am on Thursday, May 16, 2013, at the Spicer-Mullikin Funeral Home, 1000 N. DuPont Parkway, New Castle, where visitation will begin at 9 am. Interment will follow in Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 2465 Chesapeake City Road, Bear.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in memory of Mr. Rineer may be made to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, 1359 Broadway, Suite 1509, New York, NY 10018 (pdf.org).