William Jesse Skeel Rinehart

William Jesse Skeel “Bill” Rinehart passed away at Flower Hospital on Friday, May 10, in

Sylvania, Ohio. Bill was 83 years old, born June 7, 1940, in Philadelphia to Jesse Skeel

Rinehart and Evelyn Frances (Healey) Rinehart. The family came to Toledo in 1947 where

Bill attended Gesu grade school and graduated from DeVilbiss High School in 1958.

In 1963, Bill, as a full-time member of the Ohio Air National Guard, helped automate data

processing for the air base at Toledo Express Airport using IBM tabulating machines. In

1965 he became a computer programmer for Kaiser Jeep Corporation, and designed and

implemented an online, real-time, inventory management system a decade ahead of its

time. At Jeep he met the love of his life, Sandra Niedzwiecki, his “Sandlady”, and they

married August 7, 1970. Bill later joined the Questor Corporation then stayed with its AP

Parts subsidiary in Toledo. While at Questor, Bill also taught graduate and undergraduate

Information Systems design, database management, and the management of Information

Systems at the University of Toledo in their night class program. Bill spent the final decade

of his career as an Application Developer at The Andersons in Maumee.

Bill had a life-long love of motor sports. He co-founded the Toledo CARBS Custom and Rod

Builder car club and served as a judge at the early "Autorama" car shows at Toledo's Civic

Auditorium. He was a flag starter at the Toledo drag strip, ensuring fair starts while dodging

an occasional exploding clutch. When electronic lights replaced human starters, Bill

narrowed his participation to racing first-generation Corvettes, winning trophies at Toledo

and at Detroit Dragway.

Bill loved literature and humor. He wrote the script for the 1958 DeVilbiss “Deviltries”

variety show and was the associate editor of humor magazine The Chaparral while at

Stanford University for a year. Bill's articles and cartoons were published in various

motorsports and general-interest magazines over the years. Later in life, he also competed

in the Hemingway Look-Alike Contest at Sloppy Joe’s Bar in Key West, Florida.

However, Bill's proudest achievement, after wooing his “Sandlady", was his family. His kids

and grandkids were the focus of his love and devotion, as well as his hope for the future. He

cherished the time he could spend with them.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents, his beloved, wife Sandra, and his son, William

Jason Rinehart. He is survived by his daughter, Dawn Stanvick (Stephen) of Andover, MA;

grandchildren, Logan, Samantha, and Mackenzie Rinehart; and sister Marcia Goldberg of

Fort Myers, Florida.

Friends and family are welcome to gather in the Walker Funeral Home, 5155 Sylvania Ave

on Sunday, May 19 from 11:00 am until a memorial service at 1:00pm. The family suggests

contributions in his name be made to the Fisher House Foundation helping military and

veteran families.

Bill’s work here is done and he's headed upstairs. The next clap of thunder you hear is

probably Bill grabbing second gear at the races up there.