The family of Marvin Dennis Reaser, Jr. announced last week that he died peacefully on the morning of August 20. He was 84.
Reaser was born on July 28, 1940, in Nitro, WV, but was raised in St. Albans, WV, in a family of very modest means. Sometimes the only food served for dinner was “Cracker Soup” (hot water over Saltines), and the school wardrobe consisted of one shirt and one pair of pants, worn daily and laundered nightly.
Music was important in the Reaser household, and piano lessons were required for Dennis, his sister, Sally, and his brother, David. Sally loved her lessons and grew up to become an expert accompanist, piano teacher and choir director, but Reaser and David hated their lessons and wanted out. Happily, David was destined for glory on the basketball court. Reaser, however, found his escape when one of his aunts gave him a trumpet and two mouthpieces. He loved that trumpet, especially because he was able to play cowboys and Indians with the mouthpieces, which he repurposed as guns. Between Western shootouts, he discovered that he could produce a sound by blowing with pierced lips into the mouthpiece. One successful buzz led to another, and before he knew it, he was showing enough promise as a trumpet player to be released from his piano lessons, though not before his piano teacher had taken him around town on tour as a boy soprano…a sideline he was not at all inclined to discuss with the football-playing boys he hung around with.
Reaser grew into a fine musician, even on the piano, which he played by ear, eventually releasing two CDs of his playing. He was a star in the St. Albans Jr. High and High School Bands. His band director, Alan Farley, saw something special in him, a fact that would figure prominently in Reaser’s future career path. In July of 1959, after one year of college, Dennis enlisted in the United States Navy. He served for four years, sailing to Africa, Saudi Arabia and the Seychelles while playing trumpet in the Navy Band. Upon his discharge from the Navy, Reaser landed two teaching jobs as band director, without having yet earned his college degree. The first was at Macedonia High School in South Carolina, and the second was at DuPont High School in West Virginia. He subsequently earned his undergraduate degree from Morris Harvey College in Charleston, WV (now the University of Charleston), and became a teacher with credentials in 1968.
In that year, his former high school band director came back on the scene. Alan Farley had moved to Salem to direct the Andrew Lewis High School Band a few years prior, and was vacating that position to move into school administration. He called up Reaser and recommended that he apply for the band director job. Reaser applied, but the position went to another candidate. The following year, however, he successfully reapplied and landed the job that would form his career for the next 30-plus years. As band director at Andrew Lewis and subsequently, Salem High, he instituted the disciplined and structured practices he picked up in the Navy. His award-winning bands were known for their student-led governance and emphasis on excellence and hard work. Throughout his tenure as Salem’s high school band director, “Mr. Reaser” branched out to work on several complementary pursuits. He earned his master’s degree in music composition from Radford University, played trumpet in countless gigs at The Homestead and The Greenbrier resorts with the Freddie Lee Orchestra (eventually purchasing the band and rebranding it as the Dennis Reaser Orchestra), helped bring the Drum Corps International Summer Music Games to Salem, authored the book, How to Build a Championship Marching Band, composed and arranged music for concert, jazz, and marching bands, and took coursework in school administration in order to serve as summer school principal.
In 2001, a gala at the Salem Civic Center on a day dubbed “Dennis Reaser Day” by the City of Salem, marked his retirement from Salem City Schools. Proclamations were read, and the Salem City Council presented him with a key to the city in the presence of hundreds of band alumni, family and friends. After that memorable affair, Reaser decided he had too much gas left in his tank to settle down and play golf every day. He was pretty good at golf, but he was bad at relaxing. So he accepted the position of band director at Hargrave Military Academy, where he stayed for three years, and then moved to Kill Devil Hills, NC, to serve as assistant principal of First Flight High School for more than 10 years.
Reaser finally retired for good in 2015. He moved back to Salem and spent the remaining years of his life composing and arranging music, playing in community bands such as Winds of the Blue Ridge, the Melrose Baptist Church band, and the Gloryland Band at CommUNITY Church, hanging out at the Spartan Square Starbucks and the West Salem Lowes, and visiting with his treasured family and friends, twice flying to Los Angeles to play piano for his son’s Christmas party. Reaser began suffering from an undiagnosed form of Parkinson’s Disease during his final seven years, but he thought he was just getting old and feeble. He stayed a few steps ahead of the disease for a long time by willing himself to get up and walk every single day, always striving for between five and ten thousand steps.
After being hospitalized in early July of this year, he was properly diagnosed. By that time, the disease had physically overtaken him, but he was always cognizant of what was going on and eager to keep learning and improving. He made valiant efforts at physical and occupational therapy, but was ultimately unable to recover, the family said. His final weeks were spent at home being loved and cared for by his wife, children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and closest friends. A flood of loving and grateful messages from former students, friends and colleagues were received and read to Reaser each day during this time, bringing comfort not only to him but also to his family and friends. Most importantly, he used his final days to firm up his relationships with his dearest and closest loved ones, and to reconcile his heart to his Maker’s. During his hospital and hospice time, he repeatedly asked to hear one particular song: “Mirror” by Evie Tornquist Karlsson. Evie herself emailed Reaser twice when she was made aware of this fact.
Former students will recall myriad “Reaserisms” that have stuck with them through the years. One of them, “Life is a constant struggle to get back in tune,” truly captures the spirit of how Reaser lived. He remained naturally curious into his golden years, introducing himself to strangers young and old, sometimes to brag about his children, but more often to tell a joke. He loved meeting people who were from West Virginia or who were fans of West Virginia University. Likewise, he was partial to veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces. If he spotted someone wearing a cap or other indication of their service, he always approached them and struck up a conversation. Often, he’d give them a recording of his Pearl Harbor memorial opus, “Pearl,” on CD, performed by the U.S. Army Band. When he was proud of you, he made sure you knew it. If he was beyond proud of you, he’d pull out his wallet and hand you a twenty-dollar bill. His family, friends and loved ones have countless happy memories of Reaser, and we are honored to have known a great man who never stopped searching for truth, trying to improve himself and who had such a profound, positive impact on the lives of those around him.
Brian Hoffman, sports editor of The Salem Times-Register, said, “Dennis Reaser was certainly an icon in Salem. He was well known by all and, although he could be tough with his students, he was revered by the members of his ‘Pride of Salem’ band. As sports editor I recall him bumping heads with football coach Eddie Joyce over practice time at Salem Municipal Field. As the days grew shorter it was the only place both could practice under the lights, and they battled for time on the field. Also, I remember how Joyce would bring his team back from halftime before the halftime show concluded and that would drive Dennis nuts. Charlie Hammersley told me ‘not too many people went head-to-head with Eddie, but Dennis would.’ He loved the band, and he loved his music. He helped us pick out music for our wedding and I considered him a good friend. His spirit lives on in the ‘Pride of Salem.’”
Reaser was adamant that there be no funeral in his honor. The family will hold a private graveside service at Ketron Cemetery in Ronceverte, WV, in the near future. A celebration of Reaser’s life in which former students, friends and colleagues may reunite and share memories is likely to be planned and announced soon in the Pride of Salem Alumni group on Facebook. In lieu of flowers, the family asked that those interested consider a donation of any amount to the Dennis Reaser Pride of Salem Scholarship, which is awarded annually to a deserving graduating band member. And listen to some good jazz. That would make Reaser very happy, the family said.
Donations may be made online at the direct link below this obituary or by searching “Dennis Reaser” here: https://sefandaa.org
Checks made payable to the Salem Educational Foundation and Alumni Association may be mailed to SEFAA, Dennis Reaser Pride of Salem Endowment, PO Box 1461, Salem, VA 24153. Be sure to write “Dennis Reaser Endowment” in the memo area of the check.
-The Salem Times-Register
