David Dean Reineke

David Dean Reineke of Port Ludlow, WA died Nov. 5, 2024 after a short battle with cancer. He was 67. At Dave’s request, there will be no services. He would want people to remember and celebrate him in their own way.

Dave was born April 3, 1957 in Carroll, Iowa, to the late Dennis and Marilyn Reineke, and grew up in nearby Coon Rapids. He served in the US Army as a medic in Germany, receiving an honorable discharge. Dave received a bachelor’s in history from the University of Iowa and a JD from the University of Iowa College of Law. In 1984, he met his life partner and best friend Mary Spengler. Dave and Mary drove from Iowa City to Anchorage, AK in February 1989, and spent 23 years hiking, backpacking, and exploring Alaska. They married on July 22, 1991, in Anchorage.

Dave worked for 20 years at the Alaska Public Defender Agency in Anchorage. He was a true believer in the role of the public defender and in the constitutional right to counsel. Dave also mentored beginning public defenders, and they respected and admired his quiet air of capability and patience. In 2012, Dave and Mary retired and moved to Bend, Oregon, and in 2022, they moved to Port Ludlow, WA, to their house with views of Puget Sound. Dave loved to travel and to be outdoors, and they made many trips overseas visiting historical sites and hiking. Their final trip was to Svalbard, Norway in 2023, where they hiked, paddled, cruised, and saw polar bears, walrus, and other wildlife. Dave recorded it all on his camera. It was the trip of a lifetime. 

Dave was kind, gentle, and smart, and would help anyone who needed it. He put people at ease and had a dry, sometimes goofy sense of humor which he showed to those who knew him well. Dave was an avid hiker, runner, workout enthusiast, nature lover, family history researcher, and a voracious reader with an insatiable interest in history. He was a loyal friend and a quiet, loving member of his family. Dave was the best person and best partner Mary could have hoped to find. It will be hard for so many to imagine a world without him.

Dave is survived by his life partner and wife, Mary Spengler; three sisters, Michelle McGuill (David Greteman), Cheryl Baumgarten (Joe), and Denise Reineke; two brothers, Kevin Reineke (Debbie), and Greg Reineke; uncles and aunts; nieces and nephews; and many friends.

In lieu of flowers, consider donations to Planned Parenthood, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, or Alaska SPCA in Anchorage, AK.