Günter Wilhelm Reiche

Günter Wilhelm Reiche, 83, passed away on Feb. 22, 2026 at home, near Maplewood, Wis.

He was born April 29, 1942 in Posen, Germany (now Poland), the son of Willi and Gertrud (Bull) Reiche. His family moved back to Berlin during the war, to a garden cottage where Günter grew up among the post-war rubble, collecting usable items for his family. He attended schools in Berlin and then Hamburg, Germany, where they moved during his teen years.

While he wanted to be a sailor, his mother convinced him to learn a trade, so after graduation in the port city of Hamburg, he apprenticed with the world's top precision model-making company, Stührmann. There he worked on Aristotle Onassis's tanker fleet models, among other projects.

He met his wife Kay Johnson while visiting his sister Rita, who had immigrated a few years earlier, and brother-in-law Robert in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Kay and Rita worked together, and Rita introduced the two.

Six months later, he returned to Germany an engaged man. Kay followed him to Hamburg, where she lived with Günter's parents for the next six months. There, the couple would travel to the Baltic and camp together on the coast.

They returned to Cedar Rapids and married on Feb. 10, 1963. They lived in Iowa for a short time, before moving to Kenosha, Wis. to be close to Lake Michigan. The lake and coastline reminded them both of the Baltic, a place Günter loved. They initially lived in a small apartment, where he built a large kayak in the living room, and once completed, carefully pushed it out of their second-story apartment window.

Over the next three decades, they spent many vacations in Door County, camping in Peninsula State Park, renting a cabin in Gills Rock and, in the mid-70s, buying a rustic log cabin near Sand Bay in Southern Door.

During those years, Günter and the family became fans of the Heritage Ensemble (the company that eventually became Northern Sky theater) that played at the Peninsula State Park amphitheater. He diligently recorded, on cassette tapes, every show they ever attended and even filmed a few Super 8 clips, likely the only live recordings of those early days.

In 1999, they moved to Door County, where daughter Heidi had previously moved, and built their home.

During his life, Günter worked as a precision machinist for Snap On Tools in Kenosha and repaired and built models on the side.

He was an avid scuba diver, especially during his youth when he camped with his friends and dove in the Baltic with homemade scuba gear. He documented everything, including underwater footage made with waterproof camera housings he crafted. He dove extensively in Lake Michigan and Lake Superior and made a final trip to the Baltic coast in 2016. In 2015 he was featured in a Door County Magazine article detailing his scuba diving adventures and model-making work.

He was known for building, crafting and repairing a multitude of things, including many ship models. If there was ever a question of a repair need, he would just "think on it," and would usually return with a solution within a few days.

Günter was also a talented woodworker. In addition to building a home with Kay, he also made some of their furniture.

In his youth, he taught himself to play the guitar (also building one, like his own father had) and the accordion, and in the final chapter of his life, he crafted several guitars that were truly works of art. He would improve upon each build, with the goal to achieve the best possible sound.

He is survived by his daughter Heidi Hodges and grandsons Gordon and Fred Hodges, Sturgeon Bay, and his son Eric Reiche and family in DeForest, Wis.

He was preceded in death by his wife Kay, his sister and brother-in-law Rita and Robert Heimstra, his parents and many dear friends.

Per Günter's wishes, no services are scheduled at this time.

Memorials may be given in his name to Unity Hospice who compassionately assisted Günter in the final year of his life, after living with metastatic prostate cancer for 16 years; David Spude Cancer Center Fund (P.O. Box 230, Sturgeon Bay WI 54235; www.dcmedical.org/foundation/david-spude-cancer-center) who also was instrumental in his care; and Northern Sky Theater's Fred Alley New Musical Fund (9058 County Road A, Fish Creek, WI, 54212; www.northernskytheater.com/support).

Huehns Funeral Home, Inc. & Door County Crematory LLC in Sturgeon Bay are caring for Günter and his family. Expressions of sympathy, memories, and photos of Günter may be shared with his family through his tribute page at www.HuehnsFuneralHome.com.

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