Alan E. Reiter, 91, of Fayetteville, Tennessee passed away suddenly on Monday, August 4, 2025, at HH Lincoln Health. Alan was born on April 11, 1934, in Sykesville, Pennsylvania to the late C. Reed and Lulu (Weaver) Reiter and was predeceased by his beloved son Mark Alan Reiter and brother Donald R. Reiter. After graduating from Sykesville High School in 1952 and attending California Teachers College, Alan served stateside for two years with the U.S. Army before heading to a warmer climate in the Pensacola, Florida area, where he resided for over 30 years. Alan worked for 10 years as a pipefitter for St. Regis paper company in Pensacola and then became a licensed independent contractor building swimming pools and screen enclosures. He also found time to build homes for himself, first in Pensacola, then in Gulf Breeze, Florida on the beautiful inland waterway called the Pensacola Sound, where he could fish from his own dock outside his home while watching the porpoises steal the fish he was trying to catch. In 2001, Alan moved to Benton, Tennessee and again built his home, this time on the famous Ocoee white-water river. He remained there for 17 years before moving for the last time to his current home in Fayetteville, where he spent the last 7 years.
Alan’s pride and joy was his extended family. He is survived by his wife of almost 40 years, Joy (JoAnn Flynn) Reiter; daughter, Kelly (Gene) Craven; grandchildren, Jeffrey Craven, Amy (Trent) Slayton, Nicholas Alan Reiter, Lynsey (Chris) Turner; great grandchildren, Jakobe, Cali, Mason, and Lane. Alan’s stepsons include Joseph Flynn, and Daniel (Norma) Flynn of Pensacola, and Michael (Kim) Flynn of Ardmore, Alabama. Step grandchildren include Emma Flynn, Jeremey (Abigail) Flynn, Skyler Flynn and Shane Flynn; and step great grandchildren Everleigh and Vivienne.
Alan had a zest for life, a quick wit for zingers, and loved the outdoors, whether it was tending his garden, boating, scuba diving or hunting in his Pennsylvania woods. But Alan excelled at fishing. Catching a huge silver salmon on the Kenai river in Alaska was exciting but he was especially proud of the many speckled trout and redfish that he caught in the Pensacola area. Alan was a lifelong RVer, traveling the entire length and width of the U.S., much of Canada and even a three-month trip driving from Florida to Alaska and back. His adventures saw him find a gold nugget while panning with locals in the Yukon territory. Equally exciting was whistle-stopping a train, flying in a 4-seat plane over Denali, the highest mountain in North America, seeing 34 grizzlies, including one almost face to face, and trying to avoid more moose than he could count.
Special thanks to the doctors and health care workers who treated Alan as a friend while taking such good care of him. In lieu of a service, Alan chose to have his ashes spread in several locations that were dear to his heart. His loved ones will be with him when he returns forever to his favorite hunting spot in the woods of Sykesville Pennsylvania, and at his son’s and parent’s resting place there, as well as the Pensacola Gulf area he so loved. Alan will be greatly missed by his extended family and many friends, but his memory will live on in the hearts of all those who loved him.
Higgins Funeral Home is honored to serve the family of Alan E. Reiter.