Nelson Lamar Reinsch, Sr.

Nelson Lamar Reinsch, Sr., age 98, died on January 10, 2020 in Lubbock. Nelson was born on October 17, 1921 in Winchester, Texas to Karl Friedrich Reinsch and Hattie Haschke Reinsch. He graduated from Anton High School in 1938, farmed with his dad in Hockley County, and joined the U.S. Navy in February 1942. He married Ruth Colleen Pumphrey on August 30, 1944 in San Diego, California and was Honorably Discharged from the service in 1945. They moved to a farm near Smyer, Texas in 1952 and lived there until moving to Wilshire Place in Lubbock in 2012. Nelson lived a life of service and responsibility. He served as both an active member and leader on the school board of Smyer Schools, Lubbock State School Family Association, Plains Cooperative Gin and Compress boards. He served as a deacon for 20 years and as an elder for the Broadway Church of Christ beginning in 1976 until declining health required his retirement. He and Ruth were very active with the Lubbock Christian University Associates. He was an innovative and far sighted steward of the farm land he owned and the farms he rented. He installed water control terraces, bench levelling, and underground piping. He planted native grasses and used low-till and no-till cultivation practices. He was an early adopter of herbicides, insecticides, commercial fertilizers and improved seeds. He won awards for his conservation practices and his involvement in co-op gins, compresses and marketing groups in Smyer, Anton, Littlefield and Lubbock. The Reinschs were featured in early chapters of a 2005 book, The Travels of a T-shirt in the Global Economy. That book attracted international attention, bringing reporters from as far away as Germany to the Reinsch farm west of Lubbock. Nelson was preceded in death by his wife of almost 70 years, Ruth; his parents; and daughter Darla. He is survived by son Lamar and wife Janet Reinsch of Albuquerque, New Mexico; son Dwade and wife Rita Reinsch of Atlanta, Georgia; and daughter Colleen and husband Richard Phillips of Carrollton, Texas. He was blessed by and is survived by 7 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested memorial donations be made to Lubbock Christian University/Nelson and Ruth Reinsch Memorial Scholarship, Lubbock Christian University Advancement, 5601 19th Street, Lubbock, Texas 79407. Funeral services will be Saturday, January 18, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. at Broadway Church of Christ Chapel in Lubbock. Visitation will be Friday, January 17 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Sanders Funeral Home. Visitation will also be held the hour immediately preceding the funeral service on Saturday at the church.

Nelson Lamar Reinsch, Sr.

October 17, 1921 - January 10, 2020