BY JEFF FALK
They don’t know everything. But the great thing about giants is that we are afforded an opportunity to stand on the shoulders and peer into the future.
Frank Reich, Sr. was a giant.
Reich, an industrial arts teacher at Lebanon High School for 30 years, the Cedars’ head football coach from 1962-70 and an assistant football coach at Lebanon Valley College, passed away on Tuesday, March 24 at the Lebanon VA Medical Center at the age of 83. Reich was the father of current San Diego Chargers’ offensive coordinator and former NFL quarterback Frank Reich, Jr..
Mr. Reich Sr. was born in Steelton, PA, and after a stellar scholastic career matriculated to Penn State, where he also starred. A co-captain, Reich was one of the Nittany Lions’ last two-way players, toiling at center, linebacker and on special teams.
Reich competed in the 1955 East-West Shrine game. After his senior season at Penn State, Reich was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1956, but instead chose to begin his teaching and coaching career.
Before settling in Lebanon, Reich was also a veteran of the United States Marine Corps in Korea.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Patricia Spatz Reich, a former physical education teacher at Cedar Crest middle school.
In addition to Frank Reich, Jr., Reich is survived by son Joseph, daughter Cyndi, eight grand children, a brother, three sisters and a sister-in-law.
He was a member of St. Paul the Apostle Church, Annville, and enjoyed fishing, gardening, birds, road trips, long walks, building things, and playing cards with his friends.
Loading ...