Charles F. Reichmuth

Charles Felix Reichmuth, age 79, of Rensselaer, Indiana, died Thursday, April 14, 2011 in Lafayette, Indiana of complications from esophageal cancer. He was born in Basel, Switzerland, the son of Werner Kaspar and Rosa Reichmuth. He had been a resident of Washington, D.C from 1959 to 2001. Charles was director of food services for the National Geographic Society in Washington, DC, from 1963 until his retirement in 1993. In that position, he oversaw the operations of the Society’s staff restaurants and private dining rooms, and catered hundreds of receptions, dinners, and parties for National Geographic at the Society’s headquarters during his 30-year career. These included events honoring President Lyndon B. Johnson, Emperor Haile Selassie, the Shah of Iran, Charles Lindbergh, and Queen Sophia of Spain. In the mid-1970s, at the Society’s request, Charles assisted the French embassy in coordinating an important black-tie gala at the Corcoran Museum. For his efforts on behalf of the nation of France, he was awarded a knighthood — Chevalier du Cote du Rhone in 1976 at a ceremony in Avignone. Charles, who was fluent in English, French, German, and Italian, left Switzerland for the United States in 1953 with a certificate from Ecole Hotelerie in Lausanne, Switzerland. While he was working aboard a Holland America Line cruise ship in 1953, an American couple befriended him and suggested they could get him papers to enter the United States. Nothing became of the offer, and several months later, as he was about to accept a job at a resort in South Africa, an envelope arrived from the U. S. Embassy. It was all he needed to go to New York City, which he did – arriving with 60 cents in his pocket. He stayed with a Swiss family in New Jersey, and four months later became a citizen and was immediately drafted. He served in the U.S. Army from 1954 to 1956 in France, Germany, and Washington, DC. Charles was a member of the Epicurean Club of Washington, the Restaurant Association of Washington, and the Alfalfa Club, where he held the title Vintner. He was an advisor to the U. S. Culinary Olympic Team, and a member of the Curtis Creek Country Club and St. Augustine Catholic Church in Rensselaer. He was the owner of the Old South Mountain Inn in Boonsboro, Maryland, from 1971 to 1981. He also gave lessons in wine-tasting etiquette, teaching his students how to taste wine, hold a wine glass, and "cheer" dinner companions when they were out of reach. He is survived by his second wife, Patricia Coons Reichmuth of Rensselaer, his son Charles Frederic (Pippa) Reichmuth of Daytona Beach, FL, 3 stepchildren, Richard (Kris) Coons of San Antonio, TX; Lori (Joe) O'Connor of Bentonville, AR, and Caroline (Wesley Wollner, special friend) Coons of Lexington, VA; four step-grandchildren, Kelly, Kasey and Jack O'Connor and Samuel Wollner. He was preceded in death by his first wife Dorothea, one son Peter Reichmuth, 4 brothers and 3 sisters.

Charles F. Reichmuth

August 16, 1931 - April 14, 2011