Clarke "Mason" Reiter, 78, passed away at his home in Olympia, Wash., on Monday, Dec. 28, 2015.
Mason was born on Oct. 7, 1937, in Seattle, Wash., to Raymond and Florence (Beiswanger) Reiter. He moved with his family to the Skagit Valley in early 1946. He was part of the Sedro-Woolley class of 1955, but left his junior year to join the Air Force.
During his time in the Air Force he was based in St. Louis and met his first wife, Lorraine Ensley (Burg) and they had three wonderful children together: Nicholas, Annette and Stacy. Mason was very proud of all his children and their wonderful families. The loss of his son Nick in 1976 always weighed heavy on his mind through the years.
Mason worked much of his early life in construction including spending time working on the Alaska Pipeline and with the laborers union. He was a business agent for Laborers Union Local 901 in Mount Vernon for several years in the 1980s. He started his next career as a safety inspector for the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries in 1986. He was the lead safety inspector when the new Husky stadium at the University of Washington collapsed and later in his career he became the Explosive Technical Specialist at L & I, helping keep Washington citizens and workers safe.
Mason married his wife, Shari, in 1989. They enjoyed traveling together on road trips and to visit family and friends around country and in Europe. They have two French bulldogs, Maddie and Mo, that have lit up his life and made him laugh every day.
Mason was preceded in death by his parents, Florence and Raymond and son, Nicholas. He survived by his wife, Shari Purves-Reiter; his 2 daughters, Annette Medford (Ron) of Concrete and Stacy Moody of Burlington; his sister, Merrylee Reiter-Wheelhouse (Roger) of Mount Vernon; five grandchildren, Bobby Jo (Medford) Drysdale, Heidi (Medford) Aldridge, Nicolas Mason Reiter, Dallas Ann Moody and Dalton Moody; eight great-grandchildren and one great-great-granddaughter and several nieces and nephews.
A celebration of his life will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016, at the home of his granddaughter Heidi (Medford) Aldridge on Teak Lane in Clear Lake.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to your favorite charity, COPD research or the French bulldog rescue. Cremation arrangements are under the direction of Lemley Chapel, Sedro-Woolley. Share memories of Mason and sign the online guest register at www.lemleychapel.com.
