Perspective

Happy at 100

Kathryn Sanders Rieder ’34 devotes life to serving others while sharing a little advice along the way.

Talking to Kathryn Sanders Rieder is like talking to a dear friend. With each sentiment shared, a smile follows. With each note played with precision on her piano, her love of music shines through, and with each laugh, her zest for life reveals itself despite the passing of 10 decades. “My favorite quote has always been ‘I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. What I can do, I ought to do. What I ought to do, by the grace of God, I will do,’” she says. And she certainly has.

An educator , music teacher , choir director, accomplished pianist and violinist, and the author of more than 550 articles, Rieder has spent a lifetime giving of her time, talent and treasures to the young and old alike.

“My belief in giving to others was a part of my upbringing that I inherited from my mother and grandmother, and that I shared with my husband,” Rieder explains, adding that, “You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.”

From teaching music with the Orrville City Schools in the 1930s to offering piano lessons in her home after she and her late husband, Dale, married in 1934, to entertaining family and friends with her own piano performances, Rieder has shared her love of music with countless individuals, saying that music has a therapeutic quality, which has kept her mentally fit all these years.

"Whenever I get blue or need to get my thoughts together, I sit at the piano and play,” she once told a newspaper reporter in Wooster, Ohio, adding that Bach,
Mozart and Rachmaninoff top her list of favorite composers.

Writing has also provided another outlet for her creativity. Shortly after graduation, Rieder authored music-focused pieces for Parents’ Magazine as well as Writer’s Digest. At one point, she entered a story in Scribner, Life in the U.S., and it was judged one of the 50 best out of 6,000 entries.

Hundreds of additional articles geared toward music ministries, educational music, faith and even business soon followed. In fact, guests to Rieder’s home
confirm that she continues to manage an active and growing investment portfolio
and can report on demand the status of each her stocks as well as discuss issues of international and domestic interest.

Still, music remains a true love, and at the Smithville Western Commons in Wooster where she lives, her piano still holds a prominent spot in her heart and home. Even now, guests can enjoy a surprise performance and maybe a song or two. They can also quickly surmise why she has inspired so many, and why education routinely attracts her philanthropic interest, including at her alma mater.

“My mother always stressed the importance of college, and when I went to Wittenberg, where she taught at one time, it was during the recession, so I always
appreciated what people did for me as well the people who worked hard and did the work that was asked of them.”

That appreciation has led Reider to establish 28 gift annuities to date at Wittenberg. Upon their maturity, the assets from her annuities will fund the Kathryn Sanders Rieder Endowed Scholarship Fund, income from which will provide financial assistance to music and education majors.

For her willingness to pass her light on to others and her commitment to her alma mater, including being a proud Alpha Xi Delta sister for 75 years, Rieder received an Alumni Citation Award in 2000. Given in recognition of those who have brought honor to Wittenberg by their exceptional accomplishments in which service to humanity is placed ahead of personal gain or recognition, the award proved to be one of the top highlights of her life. Another one occurred in July when she received a proclamation from Wittenberg’s president, Mark H. Erickson, in honor of her 100th birthday.

“Wittenberg’s motto, ‘Having Light We Pass It On To Others,’ is my motto,” she explains. “I was always taught that when you can help, to help the church and education because that is where the future is. I’ve found that to be true. Education is our main hope in life.”

Looking back at her own life, Rieder also shares another sentiment. When asked what the secret to life is, Rieder responds simply, “Do the best you can, don’t underestimate yourself, and keep trying. Most times, things go much better than you thought.”

-Karen Gerboth '93