Linus Reinhart, 110 years old, dies in Carey
Linus Andrew Reinhart, a retired farmer who was believed to be one of the oldest men in Ohio and the United States -- and the 33rd oldest person in the world, according to the Gerontology Research Group -- has died at the age of 110.
Reinhart died Saturday at Eaglewood Care Center, Carey. He had been a resident there since 1996.
"He was a peach. He was a sweetheart," said his daughter, Virginia Orians, of Carey.
"He never could understand why he lived so long. We used to tell him, 'God isn't ready for you, yet,'" she said.
Reinhart was born on July 28, 1892 in Kirby to Peter W. and Anna Mary (Arend) Reinhart. He grew up on a farm north of Carey.
When he was 12, his father mistakenly ate poisonous mushrooms and died at the age of 48. Reinhart became the man of the house, tending the farm and caring for his younger brothers and sisters.
At 18, he left the family farm to work at a rubber company in Akron. But he returned to the farm two years later. In 1919, he married Esther E. Brooks in the lower basilica of Our Lady of Consolation Catholic Church, Carey. The couple celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary before her death in 1990.
Through the Great Depression, Reinhart and his wife raised seven children, Harold of Barrington, Ill.; Donald, Franklin and Mrs. Dwight (Virginia) Orians, all of Carey; Bernard of Tucson, Ariz.; Mrs. James (Mary Lou) Gohl, Fort Wayne, Ind.; and Mrs. Eugene (Rita) Newell, Galion. There are 36 grandchildren; 54 great-grandchildren; and four great-great-grandchildren.
A retired farmer, Reinhart also operated a seed corn business. He was a member of Basilica of Our Lady of Consolation and a charter member of the Knights of Columbus. He was a member of the board of directors of the Wyandot County Farm Bureau and the Carey Locker Plant.
In honor of his 110th birthday, the village of Carey proclaimed July 28 as "Linus Reinhart Day."
A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Our Lady of Consolation Church.
His obituary appears on Page A5 of today's edition of the Findlay Courier.June 16, 2003