Joseph James "Joe" Riehl

Joseph James Riehl, age 89, of Havertown, PA passed away peacefully on October 4, 2022, surrounded by his loving family. 

Joe was born in Philadelphia on April 30, 1933. He was one of six children of Harry and Anna (nee McGinley) Riehl. He went to Most Blessed Sacrament and St. Francis de Sales for grade school and on to Roman Catholic High School before transferring and graduating from West Catholic High School in 1951. Next, Joe went into the Navy and was stationed at the Pentagon.

After the Navy, Joe went to work for General Electric (GE) as a draftsman. He also enrolled in Drexel Institute of Technology’s (now Drexel University) electrical engineering program at night. He was very disciplined and as much as he wanted to, never skipped a semester. He graduated with a BS in Electrical Engineering in 1966, 14 years after he started!

Joe met the love of his life, Kathy Maguire (Chickie to many of you) in Margate, NJ. They dated and were married on June 18, 1960. Joe and Kathy had five children, Kathy (Hickey), Joanne, Joe, Matt, and Steve.

Joe and Kathy started their marriage in the Germantown section of Philadelphia before moving to Rively Avenue in Collingdale, eventually settling on Penfield Avenue in Havertown.

Joe left GE and moved to a company that would eventually become Siemens as an electrical engineer. He was well respected and had several roles over the years. Some projects of note are working on the electrical for the Meadowlands Stadium in Newark, NJ, and the SAP North America headquarters in Newtown Square. Joe eventually retired from Siemens.

Although his work was important, nothing was more important to Joe than his family. Joe was a wonderful husband and father who took great interest in their lives. Joe was a well-loved coach of such illustrious teams as the Haverford Township Baseball Leagues’ Padres and the Haverford Township Soccer League’s Orange team. His players still talk about “Mr Riehl”.

Joe enjoyed spending his free time either at his Poconos home in Towamensing Trail or on his vacation at the shore in Sea Isle City, NJ with his whole family.

Joe was predeceased by his wife, Kathy, his mother, Anna and father, Harry, and siblings Anna Marie Ambrogi, Harry and Barbara Walters. He leaves behind his children; Kathy, Joanne, Joe (Peggy), Matt (Kim) and Steve (Angela) as well as 10 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren. He also leaves behind his loving brothers Jack and Phillip.

Relatives and friends are invited to Visitation, Friday, October 7^th from 1:30 to 2:30 PM at Annunciation BVM Church, 401 Brookline Blvd., Havertown, PA, followed by his Funeral Mass at 2:30 PM.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Joe’s memory to St. Matthew School, 3040 Cottman Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19149 would be appreciated.