Mr. Reece, as he was affectionately known to thousands of his music students in northwest Ohio, died unexpectedly in his own home on the campus of the Otterbein-Pemberville retirement community on Sunday, December 15, 2024 at the age of 79.
Officially born Gary Richard Reece in Defiance on June 26, 1945 to Harry E. and Margaret (Treece) Reece, Dick, as he was commonly called, was a proud 1963 Liberty Center Tiger graduate and also a proud graduate of the School of Music at Bowling Green State University.
His teaching career took him to the music departments of Paulding and Bryan City Schools and later back to the music department at BGSU from which he retired.
In his retirement journey he and his musical friend John Buckner, Kansas, traveled together throughout the United States and most of Europe.
Then Dick took on a new role as a live-in nanny for two young children in a Chinese family who had come to be part of the faculty at BGSU.
That adventure took the forever-young Dick to the cities of Austin, Nashville, and finally Portland, Ore. While there he was diagnosed with cancer and decided to come back closer to his home base in January of 2022.
Dick’s beautiful baritone voice and his diverse faith traditions made him a favorite in his Methodist, Presbyterian and Catholic faith families.
Dick is survived by his brother Larry, sister-in-law Shirley Reece and nieces Angie, Penny, Ariana and Brittany and nephews Brandon and Christopher and scores of relatives and friends. He was proceeded in death by his parents, brothers Terry and Marion and nephew Brent.
\A casual celebration of life service will be held on Sunday, January 12 at 2:30 p.m.at St. Martins Lutheran Church, 203 S. Defiance Street, Archbold, Ohio.
Memorial contributions are suggested to your local high school music department. Arrangements are entrusted to the Dunn Funeral Home, Bowling Green.
