Michael John Reitz, 67, passed away on January 27, 2023 with his family by his side. He was born in
St. Louis, Missouri where he graduated from Bishop DuBourg High School. He went on to attend
Davis & Elkins College in Elkins, West Virginia on a soccer scholarship graduating with a degree in
Chemistry in 1978. Upon graduation, he was drafted by the New England Tea Men Club in Foxboro,
Massachusetts. Mike also did post graduate work at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio,
was offered a fellowship opportunity at Argonne National Laboratory in Argonne, Illinois, and received his
MBA from Kent State University in Kent, Ohio in 1992.
Mike spent most of his career in the automotive industry with over 26 years at Delphi Automotive Systems
(Packard Electric Division of General Motors) in Warren, Ohio and Cottondale, Alabama. For more than
18 of those years he supported Delphi’s international business ventures. In 2007, he joined Mercedes Benz
US International in Vance, Alabama in their Finance Division as Product and Tooling Controller.
As the only son of immigrant parents, he spoke fluent German and traveled extensively for work for over 30
years to Germany, other European nations, and Mexico. Mike was well read, loved history, finance, and all
sports. He was an avid soccer fan closely following Arsenal in the English Premier League, a lifelong St.
Louis Cardinals baseball fan, and became an Alabama football fan when he moved here nearly 30 years ago
where nearly every Saturday during football season was spent watching the Tide.
Mike was fortunate to have many friends all over the world. He valued those friendships and recently was
able to reconnect with some teammates and coach from D&E, whom he considered some of the greatest
influences in his life.
Mike lived the last nearly 30 years in Hoover, Alabama with his wife of 34 years, Cheryl. Over that time,
they also shared their home with their beloved Golden Retrievers...Reilly, Bogey, Charlie, and now Bleu,
who was able to visit with him at the hospital.
In addition to Cheryl, Mike leaves behind his two daughters, Leigh Ane Reitz of Rock Hill, SC, and Nicole
Reitz of Charlotte, NC and stepson, Christopher Veppert of North Canton, OH. He is also survived by two
sisters, Margaret Rally, of Chicago, IL and Anna Krause of St. Louis, MO as well as many nieces and
nephews. Mike was preceded in death by his parents, Peter and Christine Reitz of St. Louis, MO, sisters
Magdalena Fischer of St. Louis, MO and Christi Wissman of Perryville, MO.
Mike and Cheryl are so grateful for their many friends and those who went so above and beyond to help over
the past 2 ½ years. Saying ‘thank you’ doesn’t seem like enough, but please know their appreciation runs
deep. They also know their lives were truly enriched by their relationship with the Starr family. If you would
like to make any contributions in honor of Mike, they would like those to be directed to the Bart and Cherry
Starr Foundation. Their private foundation supports the Rawhide Youth Services, the Starr Children’s Fund
that raises money for pediatric cancer research as part of the Vince Lombardi Cancer Foundation, and other
smaller organizations. Checks can be mailed to 2647 Rocky Ridge Lane, Birmingham, AL 35216.