Joseph Philip Rhein, born October 1, 1926, and Janet Houston Rhein, born September 22, 1930, both of Sarasota, FL died on December 28 and December 30, 2020. Their deaths came just two weeks after they contracted COVID.
Born in Pittsburgh PA, they met in 1941 when Joe’s family moved to the house across the street from Janet in the East Liberty section of Pittsburgh. It was love at first sight for the young couple and in their 68-year marriage they showered each other, their families, and their friends with love.
Joe earned his CPA license following his graduation from Central Catholic High School and the University of Pittsburgh (1948). His college years included one year of service in the Army Air Force. Janet attended Mary Washington University and graduated from Chatham College. They married in June 1952 and Janet began work as an elementary school teacher. Joe took great pride working as an auditor in the Pittsburgh office of Price Waterhouse and teaching auditing in the evening division at Pitt. Joe’s opportunities to serve as a controller at L.B. Foster Company and Chief Financial Officer at General Refractories Company and SPS Technologies took them from Pittsburgh, to Summit NJ, and then to Wynnewood PA. He provided management advisory consulting services in his retirement and was active in organizations including the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI) and the Sons of the American Revolution. He conducted painstaking research to create an extensive website detailing the family’s genealogy. For decades, Janet managed the home and family and actively volunteered in the schools and service organizations. She embraced leadership roles: writing newsletters, organizing volunteers, and coordinating administrative tasks.
Throughout their lives, they held a passion for youth sports. In 1971, Joe and Janet worked with friends to create the Penn Valley Junior Sports Association so that local youth could play organized sports, including soccer. They actively coached and supported dozens of their children and grandchildren’s teams.
Their happy place was Ocean City NJ where for more than thirty years they played golf with friends at Greate Bay Country Club and enjoyed the sand, surf, and summers with their growing family. They purchased a home in Sarasota in 1995, meeting new friends on the golf course at Laurel Oak.
They are survived by Joe’s sister, Marilyn Rhein-Kollar of Sarasota and their children Susan Rhein Stewart (Robert, dec) of Sarasota, Nancy Rhein Baldiga (William) of Hopkinton MA and Robert Houston Rhein (Cheryl) of York PA. They were loving grandparents to Katherine Baldiga Coffman, Kristen Baldiga Murphy, Kelly Rhein Bray, Courtney Rhein Presley, Alexis Rhein, Conrad Rhein and Andrew Stewart; and adoring great-grandparents to Sophia, Houston, Cyrus, Demi, Georgia, Thomas, Raymond, Bennett, Piper, and Dawson.
Until their final week, they lived together in their home. Joe continued to play a few holes of golf, they savored delicious take-out meals from local restaurants, and they loved watching the sunset from their lanai in Laurel Oak. During the pandemic, they received additional support from their daughter Susan and the talented aides at Take Care Home Care. The family is deeply grateful to the wonderful caregivers at the Tidewell Hospice House in Venice FL for the loving care they showed to Joe and Janet in their final few days.
In recognition of Joe and Janet’s lifelong devotion to providing support and opportunities to children, the family asks that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to the scholarship fund at Central Catholic High School [https://www.centralcatholichs.com/pages/give] or to the Rhein Family Youth Sports Fund at Rise Above, an organization that funds opportunities for youth in foster care [https://weriseabove.org/donate/]
Joe and Janet’s cremains will be placed in Mary’s Garden at St. Thomas More Church in Sarasota, FL. A private mass and memorial will be held when it is safe for friends and family to gather.
