Born of Therese L. Paradis and Walter M. "Rex" Reckinger, Jr. on Deceber 11, 1946, Pete was the first of seven children, and was Baptised, receive First Holy Communion, and Confirmation at Sacred Heart Parish Church in Dearborn, Michigan. He attended Sacred Heart Elementary, Junior High, and High School and served as an Alter Boy until he graduated from high school in 1965. He married his beautiful bride, Mary Margaret Murphy, on September 21, 1968 at Sacred Heart Church, where his great uncle, Rev. Arthur Reckinger officiated.
He has continued to be involved at his parish through service on the Parish Council, and lay ministries as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Eucharist, a Cantor, and Choir Member during the different phases of his lifelong membership at Sacred Heart Parish. He was extremely honored to have had the opportunity to sing, along with his daughter Elizabeth Ann, in the special Papal Chior selected from various Detroit area parishes for the Pontiff's visit to Detroit. Probably the most extrordinary choir experience of his entire life was the opportunity to sing at High Mass in Saint Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican in Rome! As if that wasn't enough to overload emotionally on, as Pete was singing his solo for the Offetory Hymn, he looked up to see Mary Margaret and duaghter Elizabeth Ann, had been selected to present the gifts at offetory. A memory and and honor which will be cherished for life by the entire family!
Pete enlisted as a Seabee, a special unit of the United States Navy, under the Direct Procured Petty Officer program reactivated during the peak of the Viet Nam conflict. The Seabees get their name from the first letters (CB) of the Latin translation of "We Build, We Fight" or "Construimus, Batuimus". Some say the CB stands for Construction Batallions. Either way, the name Seabees. Pete received his Honorable Discharge October 31, 1967. He ended up with some unusal assignments while in the navy, including working in the Public Affairs Office for COMCBLANT Headquarters, Davisville, Rhode Island. His duties included performing on local TV programs with a Rock and Roll band formed from fellow Seabee enlistees, publishing an annual Seabee report, and a stint as a member of the Seabee Drill Team.
Following his brief but interesting enlistment in the Navy, he returned home to his job as a service technician at the family Business, Reckinger Heating & Cooling Company, and returned to college with his G.I Bill education benefits. His college career has included courses at Henry Ford Community College, Lawrence Institute of Technology, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Wayne State University, and finally a Bachelor of Science with a major in Business Administration, and a minor in Politics and Government Relations from Columbia State University.
His involvement in the Heating and Air Conditioning Industry has spanned more than 30 years from service technician (youngest person on record (18) to acquire an Unlimited Refrigeration Journeyman License from the City of Detroit), to service manager, to general manager, to vice president and president of Reckinger Heating & Cooling Company. In addition, he has served as a director, trustee, and/or officer of various industry organizations including the local and national board of directors of the Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning Contractors' National Association (SMACNA), the Michigan Chapter of the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA), National Energy Management Institute (NEMI), and National Energy Specialist Association (NESA). Other professional memberships include the Refrigeration Service Engineers Society (RSES) and the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE). He was appointed by Michigan Governor John Engler to the Board of Mechanical Rules which oversees mechanical contractor licensing, medhanical code enforcement, and mechanical inspector licensing in the State of Michigan.
Born of Mary Margaret O'Leary and Irving A. Murphy on January 4, 1946, Mary was the second born of two children. Mary was Baptised by Monsignior Clement Kern at Most Holy Trinity Parish Church, Detroit, Michigan. The Murphys moved from their Corktown neighborhood in Detroit, to Dearborn where Mary attended Saint Sebastian Parish School. Following graduation from Saint Sebastian Elementary and Junior High School, Mary attended Sacred Heart High School. It was at Sacred Heart High School where Pete and Mary first met, although they didn't date until becoming reacquainted while attending Henry Ford Community College where Mary Margaret graduated with her Associte of Commerce in 1967.
Mary and Pete were married at Sacred Heart Parish Church by Pete's Uncle Rev. Arthur Reckinger on September 21, 1968. Following their formal wedding and reception held at the Alexander Ballroom of the Dearborn Inn, they honeymooned in the Bahamas and New York City before returning home. Mary continued her career at J.L. Hudson Company as a Department Supervisor in several departments as well manager of several departmental boutiques at the Northland Store. Mary continued working while taking courses at Marygrove College until the joyous occasion of the birth of Elizabeth Ann on September 27, 1971.
Mary Margaret too, was involved in Sacred Heart Parish where she worked on special projects such as Parish Festival, Demographic Studies in pursuit of a regional Catholic High School, and Sacred Heart School's Parent Teacher Organization on which Mary served as President. Mary and her friends organized an effort to build attendance at Sacred Heart Elementary School to assure that the school would continue sucessfully long into the future. Mary also served on the Sacred Heart Parish Council and the council's Education Commission.
After leaving J.L. Hudson Company, Mary Margaret started working for the Reckinger family business on a special project to computerize the company's customer database, and design a direct marketing program as the company's Director of Communications. Some of the company's direct marketing programs, utilizing her efforts on the computer, were featured in a industry trade publication.
Mary Margaret's communications skills go beyond her involvement at Reckinger Heating & Cooling. She has been a panelist for a national convention workshop for couples in business featured at the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors' National Association, and teaches an Adult Education Class for the Dearborn Public Schools on parenting skills and communication with their children from birth to six years old.
Elizabeth Ann is the one and only of her proud parents, Pete and Mary Reckinger. Born September 27, 1971, she was sure to be spoiled rotten by not only her mon and dad, but the proud grandparents, Irving and Mary Murphy, and Water and Therese Reckinger.
Liz attended and graduated from Sacred Heart Elementary and Junior High School with numerous awards and honors including first place in the Detroit Science Fair. She picked Saint Alphonsus High School, Dearborn, Michigan for her secondary education where she was a class officer, cheerleader, member of the home comming court, National Honor Society, and performer in school concerts and plays.
Following high school graduation, she attended Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan where she graduated with bachelor degrees in Science and Communication. Her majors were Animal Behavior and Non-Verbal Communications respectivly. During her college years, she worked at numerous theater realted jobs on the Oakland University Campus, Meadowbrook Theater, as well as the City of Dearborn Recreation Department. One of the productions she was involved with at Oakland University was picked through a competition process to perform at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC.
Following her graduation from Oakland University, Liz has continued to keep her hand in performing arts activities, including yearly invitations to return as a performer to the Michigan Reniassance Festival. She also does light and sound design work professionally for several theaters and theatrical groups.
She is now working full time for the Detroit Zoological Institute attending to the special needs of the resident reptiles. She absolutely loves her job. We should have known that she would end up working with reptiles when we took her at an early age to Bush Gardens, Virginia, where she was the ONLY girl who begged to hold a ten foot snake. Eeeee gaddddds! She hopes to land a position as an assistant curator of the zoo.
We're shure she will acheive anything she puts her mind to!