Phillip J Reitan

Phillip J. Reitan age 95, of Decorah, Iowa, passed away on Tuesday July 8, 2025, in Decorah.

Memorial services will be held at 11:00 a.m.on Saturday, October 11, 2025, at Decorah Lutheran Church, 309 Winnebago St., Decorah, Iowa, with pastor Peter Kowitz presiding. Burial will be in the Lutheran Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 9:30 a.m. until the time of the service at the church on Saturday.

Memorials may be directed to the Phillip & Ruth Reitan Endowment for Teaching and Learning in the Biological Sciences at Luther College, Decorah, IA.

Phil's obituary (written by Phil)

Phillip Jennings Reitan was born at home on July 14, 1929, in Grove City, MN, to Ernest & Helene (Jensen) Reitan. His father lost his job in the great depression. In 1931 the family moved to Bay City, WI, where they lived until 1935 when they moved to Alberta, MN. In 1942 the family moved again to Regent, ND, where Phil attended 8th grade through 11th grade. Because the local school lacked math and science, his parents sent him to Augustana Academy in Canton, SD, where he was graduated from high school in 1947. From 1947 to 1949 he attended Concordia College, Moorhead, MN. He stepped out one year (1949-50) to teach 6-7-8th grades in his hometown of Regent. His sister, Norma, was in the 8th grade at the time and there was no teacher available. During that same year his father died, his mother and sister moved to Moorhead, MN, and he returned to Concordia to graduate in 1952. In 1953 he married his Concordia classmate, Ruth E. Grefthen, in Taylor, ND. Phil was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran Church. He was a Lutheran all his life, joining the Decorah Lutheran Church in 1962.

He was a teaching assistant and WARF (Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation) fellow in Zoology at the University of Wisconsin completing the Ph.D. degree in 1957. From 1957 to 1962 he taught at Wagner College on Staten Island, NY. In 1962 he was appointed head of the biology department at Luther College where he taught until his retirement in 1993. He was hired to rebuild the biology department at Luther College, which had been decimated by mass resignations after a dispute between the administration and the faculty. He was singularly successful in that effort. Phil and his colleague, Russ Rulon, were responsible for the establishment of the Luther College Nursing program with Mayo Clinic – another highly successful venture. The biology faculty he hired became a family with friendships throughout their careers and retirement. During his career, Phil did further study as an NSF (National Science Foundation) fellow at Harvard University, The Hopkins Marine Laboratory (Stanford University) in Monterey, CA, and was a visiting professor at Pacific Lutheran University and at the University of Wisconsin (1979-80). During his 1988 sabbatical semester Phil toured the Galapagos Islands and was a volunteer at the Page Museum (La Brea Tar Pits) in Los Angeles. He and his wife, Ruth, visited Darwin sites throughout England, including Darwin's birthplace, his home in Downe England, and his burial site in Westminster Abbey. He was a member of a number of professional organizations and in 2002 he was elected to the Eta Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa at Luther. In 2009 Phil and Ruth were given the Spirit of Luther College Award for their hospitality to students and alums of Luther College.

In his private life Phil liked to sing, being active in the Chapel Choir and the Concordia Men's Quartet at Concordia College, the Philharmonic Choir in Madison, WI, and church choirs in Madison, Staten Island, and Decorah. He participated in theatre as an actor in a number of productions with the New Minowa Players and with the Luther College Theatre Department. In retirement he wrote and acted in a one-man show as Charles Darwin to illustrate how the Great Biologist came to formulate his world-shaking discovery. An avid sports fan, he faithfully followed the Decorah Vikings, the Luther Norse, the Iowa Hawkeyes, and the Green Bay Packers.

With his family, and also sometimes with his LC-biology family, Phil camped and traveled extensively, visiting all 48 contiguous states and Alaska, as well as travels to Europe, England, Malta, the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, New Zealand, Australia, and Japan.

Phil was preceded in death by his wife Ruth, his father and mother, his two brothers, Earl and Clayton, his sister Norma, and his grandson Samuel Boyden. He is survived by his five children: Carol Reitan and husband Richard Boyden of Berkeley, CA; Eric Reitan and wife Avida Williams of St. Louis, MO; Peter Reitan and wife Huong Bush of Irvine, CA; Paula Reitan of Crofton, MD; and Rachel Reitan of New Orleans, LA. Phil is also survived by three grandchildren, David Boyden, Jacqui (Nowell) Moulthrop, and Paisley Nowell; three step-grandchildren, Felisa Williams, Christopher Williams, and Jeremy Bush; seven great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews.