Robert M. Riegle

Robert M. Riegle, 92, retired architect and art gallery owner, passed away Friday, November 18, 2016 in Wichita, Kansas. A memorial service will be held at 10:30 A.M., Thursday, December 8, 2016, at Downing & Lahey East Mortuary. Robert was born the second son of Ellis Warren and Marian McFarland Riegle on November 11, 1924 in Sedan, Kansas. His parents moved to Independence, Kansas where he attended grade school, then moved to Chanute, Kansas where he attended Junior High School and then to Eldorado, Kansas where he attended High School, graduating in 1942. In World War II, he served in the Army, the Army Specialized Training Program, the 12th Armored Division and as a Sergeant in the 742nd Amphibian Tank Battalion. He was in the battle for Alsace Lorraine, was captured by Germans and was in Stalag XII B until the end of the war. Robert was decorated with two bronze stars as a combat infantryman in WWII. The French government recently awarded him the Legion of Honor with the rank of Chevalier. In 1940, he enrolled in Kansas University to study architecture, was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, took ROTC and received a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Air Force. While at Kansas University, he married Lucille Kuykendall in 1947. He graduated from Kansas University in 1950, with a B.S. in Architecture and moved to Wichita. He worked in architecture for over 25 years while traveling and enjoying the art of this country and Europe, leading to the opening of The Wichita Gallery Of Fine Art in 1977, representing outstanding artists from across the nation. Robert was active in civic affairs in downtown Wichita, such as the Downtown Business Association, Wichita Chamber of Commerce, Metropolitan Transit Authority, Wichita Street Railway Society, Wichita Sedgwick County Historical Museum, Orpheum Theater and Civic Enterprises Association. After 35 years, they closed the gallery in 2012. Robert is preceded in death by his wife; parents; older brother, Warren; sister, Patricia Fox; younger brother, Jack. He is survived by sisters-in-law, Ines Riegle of Lawrence, Kansas, Bitsy Riegle Gulbenk of Nashville, Tennessee; several nieces and nephews, Sandra Reinhardt, Linda Jones both of Chanute, Kansas, Mark Riegle of Jay, Oklahoma, Dana Miller, Scott Riegle both of Nashville, Tennessee, Steve Riegle of Lawrence, Kansas, Norita Murray of Birmingham, Alabama. Memorial donations may be made to Harry Hynes Memorial Hospice, 313 S. Market, Wichita, KS 67202.