In Memory
Joel Michael Reinebold
Aug 23, 1960 - Jun 15, 2025
Joel Michael Reinebold, beloved brother, uncle, and friend to so many, passed away on Sunday, June 15, 2025 after suffering a heart attack the previous Sunday.
Born August 23, 1960 in South Bend, Indiana, Joel was the fourth child of Jim and Evelyn Reinebold, Sr. (both deceased). He is survived by three brothers, Jim Jr. (Cindy) of Las Vegas, NV, Jeff (Leslie) of Pahoa, HI, and Jonathan (Julie) of Kekaha, HI, a sister Jamie of South Bend, and his girlfriend Merrab. He was “Uncle Toad” to several nephews, nieces, great-nephews and great-nieces.
A graduate of and varsity baseball player at both Clay High School (1978) and Mississippi College in Jackson, MS (1982), Joel settled in South Bend where he dedicated his life to coaching baseball, mentoring young men and women through sports, and contributing to the community he loved. He worked tirelessly to maintain an atmosphere of respect both on and off the playing field. Joel was admired by the many players who participated in the programs he ran. His coaching career culminated in 2024, when he coached the final season of Clay High School’s baseball program before Clay was forced to close its doors due to redistricting.
Joel found he could stay close to baseball in the off-season and in the scarce time he was not coaching by serving as a groundskeeper at various venues throughout the state. He was the head groundskeeper at South Bend’s Coveleski Stadium before it was renamed Four Winds Field, and he built and maintained several high school and college sports fields throughout the state all while operating a business (“School of Hard Knocks”) dedicated to teaching the fundamentals of baseball.
One of Joel’s crowning achievements was his co-founding of “Rounding Third,” a non-profit organization dedicated to creating a baseball culture, development of interplay, and helping build self-esteem in underserved youth in the South Bend area and on the island of Jamaica. It was through the numerous trips he made to Jamaica where he delivered uniforms, gloves, bats, baseballs, and other baseball equipment, that Joel fell in love with the island and its people. What started out as an opportunity to help better an underserved community turned into an adopted second home as Joel would return year after year to “vacation” in the sun.
It is fitting and a bit ironic that Joel passed away on Father’s Day. Even though Joel had no children of his own, he had hundreds of “sons” and “daughters” to whom he served as mentor, surrogate father, and Dad. In lieu of flowers, the family asks friends and family to donate to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at StJude.org.
A Funeral Service for Joel will be held at 7:00 pm Wednesday, June 18, 2025 at Palmer Funeral Home – Welsheimer North Chapel 17033 Cleveland Rd. South Bend, Indiana 46635. Friends may visit with family from 4:00 pm-7:00pm prior to the start of service. Family asks that you wear your baseball attire if Joel coached you or your favorite beach resort clothes as he enjoyed. Online condolences may be left at www.palmerfuneralhomes.com
06/17/2025 EJS
https://www.palmerfuneralhomes.com/obituary/Joel-Reinebold
6/17/2025 djb
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