Published: November 04, 2009 10:17 am      

Goshen loses a dear friend

The Goshen Sister City Committee lost a valued friend when Eberhard Reichmann passed away on Oct. 16 at the age of 83.

He was born in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1926 and emigrated to the United States in 1953. He completed his doctorate in German Studies at the University of Cincinnati in 1959, the same year he started his career at Indiana University in Bloomington. He taught at IU for 32 years, retiring in 1991, although he remained very active in retirement, writing and lecturing mainly in the field of German-American Studies.

He was an accomplished musician and a stylish writer in English, German and his native Swabian dialect. He published numerous books and articles and won many honors, including the Cross of Merit First Class from the Republic of Germany, a Sagamore of the Wabash, and college Teacher of the Year in 1990 from the Indiana Association of Teachers of German. He is survived by his wife, Ruth, two children, four grandchildren and one great-grandson.

Some years ago, “Eb” and his wife Ruth volunteered their time and talent to translate and transcribe the entire automated “Menno-Hof” program into German so visitors from Bexbach, our sister city, could better understand the history of our Amish population.

They spent one whole week working on the project, then donated the finished German version to Menno Hof. Many Bexbachians have been able to enjoy the program since then.

Eberhard Reichmann was a great supporter of the sister city concept and a dear friend of the Botts family in Goshen. He will be missed but not forgotten.

— Gaby Botts

Goshen