REICHL ERIC HERBERT Was born December 3, 1913, in Vienna on the eve of the First World War, the only child of Fritz and Ella Reichl. Eric grew up in Vienna, Austria with his parents, graduating from high school and eventually the Technische Unversität Wien in 1936 with a degree in chemical engineering. His spare time found him in his beloved mountains - climbing, skiing and hunting. Upon graduation, he worked for an engineering firm that specialized in what was to become a life-long pursuit, the gasification of coal. Eric emigrated to the United States in 1938, landing roles over a 50 year career with Babcock & Wilcox, Winkler-Koch, Standard Oil, Consolidation Coal and finally Continental Oil Company (now DuPont) where Eric retired 1979. His professional memberships, associations and board roles, too numerous to list completely include The National Academy of Engineering, Department of Energy/Research Advisory Board, National Petroleum Council Energy Study, Oak Ridge National Laboratory: UCC Management Advisory Council, Synthetic Fuels Corporation, Radian Corporation, Coal Conversion Panel Chairman/National Academy Energy Study. Eric's unique combination of skills found him awarded the rank of Captain in the U.S. Navy during World War II, placed dangerously just behind the advancing front in the European theater. His assignment was to evaluate German progress toward the conversion of coal to synthetic fuels an area vital to the Allied war effort. Eric married Eva Neuman de Vegvar in 1939, she a 21 year-old émigré from Vienna, moving to Wichita, Kansas. Their first daughter, Lynn was born in 1941; their second daughter, Helen, was born in 1943. His celebrated professional path took his family to New Jersey, Massachusetts, Kansas, Illinois, Oklahoma, California, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. Eric moved to Princeton in 1985 where he continued consulting. Never far from a good book, he honed his ability to find the best restaurant in whatever city in the world he found himself. He traveled extensively in Europe and the U.S. After 59 years of marriage Eva died in 1998. Eric married Frances Hofmann in 1999. Together they explored Spain, Switzerland, Scotland, England and the many homes of their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. At his 100th birthday in Princeton in 2013 Eric's distinctive curmudgeonly charm was in full display as he riveted the audience with a six-minute account of the Twentieth Century. He died peacefully in his home on Thursday, November 13, 2014. Eric is survived by his wife of 15 years, Frances Reichl; his two daughters, Lynn Weyand and Helen Gilbert; three grandchildren; six great- grandchildren; and two African Grey parrots. A Memorial Service will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 6, 2014, at the Princeton Friends Meeting House. In lieu of flowers, contributions in memoriam may be made to Doctors Without Borders. Send condolences post-gazette.com/gb
