I am sorry to inform members of this board of the passing of Greg Reiten, aka GregRio. He passed away a week ago after a short battle with cancer. Ever the planner; upon being diagnosed, Greg immediately began to get his financial affairs in order, made preliminary contact with a hospice and asked me to let people know of his passing.
Greg was one of the most valuable members of this and other Las Vegas boards. His knowledge of the theater and music was unmatched. He was always ready to respond to requests for recommendations and advice. I found his show reviews to be both informative and highly entertaining.
On a more personal level, I am going to miss having breakfast with him in Las Vegas which had become a tradition whenever our trips coincided. He was always upbeat and I feel very fortunate to have known him.
In the future whenever I see an empty seat in a theater, I am going to think just maybe Greg is occupying it.
May God bless him.
I found the following tribute to Greg on his facebook page:
I received word today of the passing of RHS alum Greg Reitan (69) on Feb. 21st due to lung cancer. He had been a long term resident of the bay area in California and was residing in Walnut Creek at the time of his death. The sixties in Richland (and everywhere in the country for that matter) was the decade in which a large part of our generation came of age and great change was occurring. The music scene was obviously a big part of all that. Greg was a major player in the Tri-Cities live music culture and a huge contributor to it. He organized and led bands such as The Esquires, The Parrots, Grandaff, Lenore and Flesh for years and years. He sang, played guitar and drums. His bands were always booked and working mainly through his efforts and many fine local musicians honed their skills in bands Greg put together. He worked his talented rear end off for his music and his passion was a blessing to many, many of us who attended RTA dances at the old Community House, or CYA dances at Christ the King, or Battles of the Bands at the Richland Roller Rink, or RHS post-game mixers in the girl’s gym, or homecomings, senior parties etc. The first live band I ever saw was a performance by Greg’s Esquires in the compound behind Chief Jo for our eighth grade party. I couldn’t imagine any activity so certain to ruin forever what little self esteem existed in the soul of an insecure 14-year-old than getting up in front of the entire class and singing…loudly…through a PA system. Well, Greg and his band totally nailed it, blew everybody away performing tunes like Gloria, Midnight Hour and House of the Rising Sun and changed my perspective of the power of performance forever. Greg always had a band and that band was always working because of him. Greg was also a talented artist and created posters, band graphics and silk screened T-shirts. He even created custom band letterheads for booking and contract communications. Examples of his work exist in several of the RHS Columbian yearbooks from ’66 – ’69. I will miss Greg quite a lot but I will never forget him. He made an indelible impression on many and I’m sure that for those of us who were part of the music scene in ‘60s Richland, he will be remembered as talented, innovative, dedicated and part of the extended family which we comprised.
RIP (Rock in Peace) Greg Reitan January 19th, 1950 – February 20th, 2013
Greg was one of the most valuable members of this and other Las Vegas boards. His knowledge of the theater and music was unmatched. He was always ready to respond to requests for recommendations and advice. I found his show reviews to be both informative and highly entertaining.
On a more personal level, I am going to miss having breakfast with him in Las Vegas which had become a tradition whenever our trips coincided. He was always upbeat and I feel very fortunate to have known him.
In the future whenever I see an empty seat in a theater, I am going to think just maybe Greg is occupying it.
May God bless him.
I found the following tribute to Greg on his facebook page:
I received word today of the passing of RHS alum Greg Reitan (69) on Feb. 21st due to lung cancer. He had been a long term resident of the bay area in California and was residing in Walnut Creek at the time of his death. The sixties in Richland (and everywhere in the country for that matter) was the decade in which a large part of our generation came of age and great change was occurring. The music scene was obviously a big part of all that. Greg was a major player in the Tri-Cities live music culture and a huge contributor to it. He organized and led bands such as The Esquires, The Parrots, Grandaff, Lenore and Flesh for years and years. He sang, played guitar and drums. His bands were always booked and working mainly through his efforts and many fine local musicians honed their skills in bands Greg put together. He worked his talented rear end off for his music and his passion was a blessing to many, many of us who attended RTA dances at the old Community House, or CYA dances at Christ the King, or Battles of the Bands at the Richland Roller Rink, or RHS post-game mixers in the girl’s gym, or homecomings, senior parties etc. The first live band I ever saw was a performance by Greg’s Esquires in the compound behind Chief Jo for our eighth grade party. I couldn’t imagine any activity so certain to ruin forever what little self esteem existed in the soul of an insecure 14-year-old than getting up in front of the entire class and singing…loudly…through a PA system. Well, Greg and his band totally nailed it, blew everybody away performing tunes like Gloria, Midnight Hour and House of the Rising Sun and changed my perspective of the power of performance forever. Greg always had a band and that band was always working because of him. Greg was also a talented artist and created posters, band graphics and silk screened T-shirts. He even created custom band letterheads for booking and contract communications. Examples of his work exist in several of the RHS Columbian yearbooks from ’66 – ’69. I will miss Greg quite a lot but I will never forget him. He made an indelible impression on many and I’m sure that for those of us who were part of the music scene in ‘60s Richland, he will be remembered as talented, innovative, dedicated and part of the extended family which we comprised.
RIP (Rock in Peace) Greg Reitan January 19th, 1950 – February 20th, 2013
