Wheelchair no hindrance for Keremeos man remembered by PRH donation

KEREMEOS – Joe Reichert didn’t consider life in a wheelchair to be much of a hindrance.

Born in Humboldt, Saskatchewan in 1935, Joe and his family moved to Keremeos when he was 10 years old.  However, tragedy struck when Joe was involved in an oil rig accident in Alberta in 1959 which left him a paraplegic.

While recovering in Edmonton, he soon got involved in Alberta’s newly formed Paraplegic Sports Association – and became an active wheelchair athlete, participating in such sports as archery, table tennis and shot put.  He went on to represent Canada at various international Paralympic Games.

In 1977, he met his future wife, Rejeanne who worked as a Licenced Practical Nurse at the extended care facility where he lived.

The couple married in 1981, shortly after they moved to Keremeos from Edmonton.

Back in his boyhood hometown, Joe joined the local Elks’ Lodge and became a strong supporter of the organization, serving as treasurer-secretary for many years.  He also helped organize the annual Keremeos Elks Rodeo – considered to be one of the community’s premier events.

Joe passed away on May 2, 2014 due to complications from pneumonia which he had contracted the previous winter. The 2014 Elks Rodeo was dedicated in his memory.  He also volunteered for the Lower Similkameen Health Society and his church.

Now, Rejeanne has donated $50,000 from Joe’s estate to the South Okanagan Similkameen (SOS) Medical Foundation. The gift will help provide medical equipment for the Penticton Regional Hospital expansion and will see a patient isolation room in the new PRH tower named in Joe’s honour.

The PRH expansion is well underway and the six-storey tower should be ready in April 2019 for patients throughout the South Okanagan-Similkameen. Work will then begin on Phase 2, including a major update to the hospital’s Emergency Department to be completed by 2021.

For information on donating to the SOS Medical Foundation’s $20 million PRH equipment campaign, call 250-492-9027 or visit online sosmedicalfoundation.com.

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