Richard F. Reiff

On Sunday, December 13, 2020, Richard Francis “Dick” Reiff, loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, passed away at age 89 at his home in Crystal Lake.

Dick had an extraordinary storyline – a Depression-era, high-school-educated carpenter who transitioned to a federal bank regulator. In 1973 Dick made an unusual mid-career switch to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. after years in the construction industry. At the FDIC he rose to become a regional director in the Chicago office, where he oversaw hundreds of bank closings during the financial crises of the 1980s.

Although he did not graduate from Wright Junior College, Reiff quipped that at the FDIC, “I had CPAs and PhDs working for me.” He eventually earned a graduate degree from Pacific Coast Banking School in Bellevue, WA.

Dick was born on May 30, 1931 in Chicago to Albert and Gertrude Reiff, the youngest of four children. He graduated from DePaul High School and served in the Illinois National Guard. On August 18, 1951 he married Antonette Suriano, who survives him. They raised six children.

A lifelong Chicagoan and devout Catholic, Dick was active in St. Matthias parish on the North Side, serving as founding president of its school board and assisting other parochial schools with their finances. He later moved to suburban Crystal Lake and joined St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church. He was very active in both parishes, devoting his time and talents. He was a volunteer with the St. Vincent de Paul Society, even into his 80s, making house calls to friends in need.

More than anything else, Dick was a devoted patriarch who reveled in the accomplishments of his family members and gave comfort and support during life’s challenges. He was always there. If that meant he missed a promotion, or a deal, or a night out with the boys, so be it. His family mattered more.

In addition to his parents, Dick was preceded in death by his brother, Albert Reiff; sisters, Emily Raasch and Gertrude Parker; and son-in-law, Colin MacKenzie.

He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Antonette “Toni” Reiff; Richard (Mary Ann Brown) Reiff, Deborah MacKenzie, Catherine Stroh, Jack (Sharon) Reiff, Anne Marie (Angelo) Rodriguez and Paul (Cathleen) Reiff; 15 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be held Friday, December 18, from 8:30 a.m. until prayers held at 10:30 a.m. at Davenport Family Funeral Home and Crematory, 419 E Terra Cotta Ave (Rt. 176) Crystal Lake. Procession will follow to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church, 1023 McHenry Ave, Crystal Lake, IL 60014, for the funeral Mass at 11 a.m. Entombment will follow at St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery, River Grove.

Donations may be given in Dick’s memory to the St. Vincent de Paul Society at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church.