Longtime retired Middletown police officer dies of COVID-19 complications

Mar. 18—Longtime Middletown police officer and Butler County Sheriff's deputy John Reiring died March 12 of complications from COVID-19. He was 75.

The resident known for his love of family, bowling, cars, and policing was buried Wednesday with officers from throughout the region paying tribute.

Reiring was a U.S. Army veteran who served during the Vietnam War before becoming a Middletown police officer in 1962. He retired as a lieutenant in 2002, but didn't stop working. He worked as an Oxford Twp. officer before working part time as a Butler County Sheriff's Office deputy beginning in 2013 serving civil paper work.

His son, Keith Reiring, said his father was more than just active.

"This man could not sit down," Keith Reiring said. "He was always tinkering on his cars, making things and working around the house."

Then there was his love of bowling.

"Some people golf, his thing was bowling," he said.

And it was the reason for Reiring getting surgery on both shoulders. The first happened last spring, and the second came on Jan. 28. Both went well, but about 10 days after the second surgery, Keith Reiring said his father started coughing.

The next day, he could not be woken up to go for a COVID-19 vaccine shot and was hospitalized

Keith Reiring said his father eventually beat the coronavirus but could not overcome pneumonia because of damage to his lungs caused by COVID-19 and other complications.

"They treated him like crazy, we can't say enough about the hospital staff, and there were times of hope, but we eventually knew," he said. "He loved putting the uniform on. He loved people, talking to people, telling stories and policing. He had a lot more life to live."

His mother and father were planning a trip along Route 66 this summer in his 2015 white Mustang with gold stipes.

Middletown Police Chief David Birk remembered Reiring as full of energy and a great supervisor who called him "Birky" when he was a young patrol officer.

"He was an all-around great guy and just so active. Hard to believe he's gone," Birk said.

Reiring is survived his wife, Kathleen; sons, Keith and Kevin; and daughter, Nicole Arens.

Two other retired longtime police officers have died recently. Robert "Bob" York, a 26-year veteran of the force who retired in 1994 as a detective, has died, according to Middletown police.

Sgt. Robert Cox, 79, died Feb. 27. He was an U.S. Army and Navy before becoming a patrolman for Middletown police. He was a sergeant at the time of his retirement

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