Kenneth Wayne Riedinger, 74, of Silsbee, died Tuesday, February 13, 2024. He was born on June 30, 1949, in Silsbee, to Ruth Jones Riedinger and Charles Kenneth Riedinger.
Following is Wayne and Mary’s life story, by Mary Riedinger.
Well, we met in 1970, maybe 1969. We loved each other from the start. We went to get a coke at the Top Burger number one. It’s where Munchies Ole is now in Rusty’s Volkswagen. We sat and talked for hours.
It seemed like my life was never the same. When they would say, “What do you want to do after you graduate?”, I would say, “I want to marry Wayne, have children, and live happily ever after”, and thank God that’s just exactly what we did. We have had the most wonderful life.
My mama sold us the home that was her and daddy’s dream home. They only had seven years and she raised us there. Wayne was so glad to buy it and have such a nice home. She sold it to us so cheap and so complete and really, she almost gave it to us.
I was 19 and Wayne was 23. Mama died the next year, so that day I had no mother, no father, no grandmother, and no grandfather, but I had a beautiful two-week baby girl and a husband that loved me with all his heart.
We were very happy and loved. We moved to West Texas in the oilfield to make a better living as we moved around on our adventures, we always had fun. We worked for a man named John Brittain and some of his brothers and cousins worked there too. It was really a wonderful adventure. We stayed a year and I wanted to go home, so we did. We had rented out our home while we were gone. We moved back home but still could not make a living. We had a beautiful baby boy that year so we moved back, and I knew as long as we were together, we would be fine. We lived in Sonora again, this time for three years, then we moved to Dilley, Texas. We lived there three years. We were living our best life, loving each other, had many good times, traveled with tractor pull tractors, that he and his cousin, Rodney had built for Mr. Brittain. We got to go with him every weekend, me and the babies, for him to be mechanic on the tractor pull tractors motels paid all the way just fun for me and the babies.
The next year and the babies. The next year in Dilley, Texas. Born in San Antonio. God gave us another baby. It was a boy. God was always holding us up. Three years in Dilley, then we moved to Giddings, and we had three years in Giddings, too.
We always had our home in Silsbee renting it out. One weekend we came home, and Papaw Winger made it possible to put a brand-new roof on our home. He always loved Wayne.
One vacation week then back off to Giddings we went. We stayed the three years in Giddings while there we bought us land, an acre and a half and put our little trailer on it and made us a home in Giddings, in the country. We got ready to move home and sold our little place in Giddings and came home. Clint was 2 and a half years old, it was 1981, Sabrina was 10 and Kenneth was 7, we got to go home. Selling our place in Giddings we got to go with enough money to pay off our house, so we were home with no risk of ever losing our house. Home was good.
Wayne went to work being a mechanic at car dealerships first Ford and then Mercury dealership not ever making a lot, but our home was ours.
We decided to try to open a shop of our own. There wasn’t much risk. We had an old 53 Ford we call Gertrude, we sold Gertrude for $500 and an air compressor and just pushed his tools across the street from the dealership into a rented shop. We got the doors open. It was called K and M Automotive Specialist, and we had $15 left in the world, the whole world, lol. When we opened the doors that first day was a Saturday and we, me, Wayne and all three kids, had worked all day fixing it all up. After dark all of us talking, still working, and excited. Two very nice cowboys pulled in. They had their headlights knocked out at the rodeo and we sold and installed the headlights out of Wayne’s truck for $25. They were so happy, and we were too. They were our first customers and now we had whopping $40 and were off to a great start.
Today there sits a big shop building all paid for and it was a very good, happy seven-year run. We had no retirement and Wayne was 43, so we closed the doors on the automotive repair, locked the door, and went home.
He went to work for the county, with a shovel, in a ditch on the crew. He retired twenty-three years later as Commissioner of Hardin County, Precinct 1.
He’s a great man, I’m so thankful he fell in love with me, because he loved with everything he had in him, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren were his whole life. It was so great being his whole life, some people never get to be loved like that. I’m so thankful we all have known that kind of love, the kind that will give each of us strength to carry us through. Thank you, God, and thank you daddy.
Survivors include his wife, Mary Riedinger; children, Sabrina Brown and her husband, Kenneth; Kenneth Wayne Riedinger, II and his wife, Megan;andClintRiedinger and his wife, Melissa, all of Silsbee; grandchildren, Taylor Fielder and her husband, Bobby, of Buna; Jordan Lewis and his wife, Lara; Katie Kellum; Mikayla Riedinger; Madison Riedinger; Braden Riedinger; Cali Riedinger; and Sadie Riedinger, all of Silsbee; Jordan Brown and his wife, Allison, of Webster; and Justin Brown, of Beaumont; great-grandchildren, Emily Brown, Abraham Espina, Lucas Castillo, Nikolas Lewis, Blake Brown, Sunny Jo Fielder, and on the way, Kolton Wayne Riedinger; siblings, Brenda Joyce Leviness and her husband, Roger, and Larry Winger and his wife, Shirley; David Riedinger and his wife, Sheila; and Bill Riedinger and his wife, Gayla, all of Silsbee; sisterin- law, Yvonne Winger of Silsbee; and many cousins.
He is preceded in death by his parents; brother, Lester Doc “Buddy” Winger; stepfather, L.D. Winger; and grandparents, Cynthia and Frank Jones.
A gathering of Wayne’s family and friends began at 3:00 p.m., with his funeral service at 4:00 p.m., Saturday, February 17, 2024, at Broussard’s, 490 Cemetery Road, Silsbee. His interment followed at Knupple Cemetery, Silsbee.