Dorothy Reif (Rainsberger), formerly of Atascadero, died Friday, May 7th, in Solvang, California. She was 93 years old.
Born in Los Angeles, she moved to Atascadero in the early 50s after she married Vince Reif. They lived on a ranch off of Morro Road and then moved into town a few years later. Vince owned and operated the Chevron service station at the corner of El Camino and Traffic Way for many years. Dorothy became an elementary school teacher at the Monterey Road School.
They were a very happy and devoted couple and raised two sons, Ken and Robert. They were active in the community and loved what Dorothy always described as that “sweet, simple life” that was Atascadero in the 50s and 60s with their family and many friends.
Following Vince’s tragic death in 1966, Dorothy moved to Long Beach and built a house with her sister Audrey, brother-in-law Fred and their family. In 1970, she married Bob Rainsberger, who worked for the U.S. Treasury Department. Together, they traveled the world and spent several years attached to the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines, where she enjoyed the diplomatic and social activities of the diplomatic corps. Following Bob’s retirement, they lived briefly in Atascadero and then Palm Desert. They divorced in 1992.
Several years later, Dorothy met Roger Kolda of Hillsborough, and they were a loving couple for 17 years, living in Hillsborough until Roger died in 2017. After Roger’s death, she moved to Solvang to be near her younger son Robert and daughter-in-law, Ragnhild. Robert and Ragnhild were constant companions and friends to Dorothy in her last years.
Dorothy was very proud of her family and is survived by son Ken and daughter-in-law Michelle Norcross of Denver, Robert and Ragnhild of Solvang; grandchildren Michael and Kevin Reif of Denver, Erik (Selena) and Tommy Reif of San Diego; and two great-grandchildren Oliver and Leo of San Diego. She would humorously complain that there were no girls born into the Reif clan.
She was also proud of returning to college in the late ’60s and graduating from Cal Poly with a Masters Degree in Education while raising a young family. She expressed many times that she had had a good and happy life. Indeed she did. She lived for 93 years and experienced the joys and sorrows that life brings. She laughed often, smiled always, and lived her life full of optimism. Dorothy, or Grandma Dorothy, or D or Dottie had a few phrases that her family became familiar with: “One day at a time,” “ We are all doing the best we can,” and “If it ain’t fun, we ain’t doing it” She had fun, and she did it.
There will be a private family service later this year, and her remains will be interred at Atascadero Memorial Cemetery, next to her beloved husband, Vince.
