BRIGADIER GENERAL US Army (ret) KENNETH L RIETH Kenneth L. Rieth, 93, died April 9, 2024 at Portside, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. General Rieth, the first of six sons, was born, raised and educated through high school in Newark, New Jersey. He received a BS degree from the University of Delaware in 1953, and a MA degree in 1962 on the GI Bill from Seton Hall University. During WWll as a young teenager he was very active as a volunteer for the war effort by collecting scrap metal, newspapers and as an air raid warden for his city block, also held many jobs to earn money. Rieth went on to be president of his Central High School senior class and a member of numerous successful football, basketball and baseball teams. He was inducted into the Newark, New Jersey Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995. He attended the University of Delaware on a football and baseball scholarship. His “claim to lasting fame” was having scored the first two touchdowns in Delaware’s current stadium when it opened in November 1952 defeating Lafayette College 13-12. While in college he married his high school sweetheart, Theodora Kennedy Rieth, and they remained married until her death in 2019. Rieth commissioned in the United States Army through ROTC as the Distinguished Military Graduate, and served on active duty for 6 years. Upon discharge from active duty in 1959, Rieth joined the NJ Army National Guard, and based on his active duty experiences with the Nike Hercules missile system, was given the responsibility of bringing on line missile systems in the air defense of NYC and Philadelphia. Rieth held a series of successive positions culminating with serving on Governor Tom Kean’s sub-cabinet as Deputy Commissioner / Deputy Adjutant General where he retired from in 1990 as a Brigadier General having served a total of 37 years. Rieth was the patriarch of a family that was proud of its military heritage. His father, son, grandson, five brothers and many cousins and uncles have served, or still serve, in the military. Son of the late Lester and Louise (nee Conti) Rieth; husband of the late Theodora Kennedy Rieth; father to daughter and son-in-law, Kirk and Kendra Sokoloski, and son, Major General (ret) Glenn Rieth; brother to Donald Rieth, the late George Rieth, the late Dennis Rieth, LTC (ret) Gary and Janet Rieth, and Brian and Dianne Rieth; grandfather to MAJ Chris and Michelle Manella, Erika and Anthony Kraemer, and Craig Rieth, 5 great-grandchildren, and many cousins, nieces and nephews. Calling hours will be Monday, April 15, 2024 from 5:00 to 8:00 PM at the Kingston and Kemp Funeral Home, 260 White Horse Ave., Hamilton, NJ 08610. Interment with military honors will be Tuesday, April 16, 2024 at 11:30AM at the Brig. General Wm. C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 350 Province Line Rd., Wrightstown, NJ 08562-2206. Those attending should meet at the cemetery no later than 11:15AM. Due to cemetery regulations, flowers are not permitted. In lieu of flowers send contributions to the NJ National Guard State Family Readiness Council at http://nationalguardsfrc.org.