Richard Greiner

Richard L. Greiner, Sr., 91, Cleveland native, former owner and president of Dodd Camera, and World War Two veteran died February 29. Born in Cleveland in 1920, Greiner grew up in Lakewood and Rocky River, the son of Louis and Eva Reed Greiner and brother of Janet Ehle Jay. In 1937, while attending Rocky River High, Greiner traveled as an exchange student to Nazi-controlled Germany. On a visit to Nuremberg, he had a close-up encounter with Adolph Hitler, who was leaving his hotel for a rally. Greiner shot a picture of Hitler with his camera, which Hitler's guards later tried to confiscate. Little did Greiner know that within five years he would be fighting Hitler at sea. After high school, Greiner attended Northwestern University in Chicago, where he participated in one of the Navy's early ROTC programs. Within weeks of his graduation and commission as a Navy lieutenant in June 1942, he was on board a destroyer in the North Atlantic. Greiner performed convoy duty in the Atlantic, saw action at Salerno and Anzio, Italy, and later fought in the Pacific. In May 1945, at the Battle of Okinawa, a kamikaze struck Greiner's destroyer while he stood on the ship's bridge, injuring him but killing all those around him. Greiner received a Purple Heart for wounds received that day. After recovering, Greiner returned to duty and was on board a destroyer in the Panama Canal headed back to fight in Japan in August 1945 when the atomic bombs fell and the war ended. Following the war, Greiner returned to his Northern Ohio roots, entering into business at Dodd Camera with his father, who had worked for the company since 1910. In 1946 Greiner married the former Jacquelyn Hogan deceased of Greenwich, Connecticut and raised nine children in Shaker Heights. Greiner took over from his father as president of Dodd Camera in 1956 and began to expand the scope and size of the business. When he retired in 1988, Dodd Camera was the oldest and largest dealer of photographic equipment in Northern Ohio. In his retirement, he traveled extensively in Europe, South America, and Asia and loved sailing Lake Erie, reading, gardening, skiing, attending the theater and Cleveland Orchestra concerts, and spending time with his large family. Following the 1997 death of his wife Jacquelyn, he married the former Jean Sterner Sheetz of Shaker Heights in 2000. Greiner was a founding member of St. Dominic Church in Shaker Heights, actively worked with the Cleveland Rotary, and served on the board at Myers University, now Chancellor University, in Cleveland. A descendant of early colonial and Western Reserve settlers, he was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution. He was also a member of numerous photographic trade groups, won the photo dealer of the year, and other Cleveland organizations, including Blue Coats, Rowfant Club, Union Club, and the Skating Club. In addition to his wife, Jean, Mr. Greiner leaves nine children: Richard Jr. Mary Ann, William Kathy, Jacquelyn Finn Timothy, Lisa, Peter Wendy Frados, Victoria Fox Larry, Charles Jackie, Maria Allen Stuart, John Aki, twenty grandchildren and one great-grandchild. He was stepfather to Chris Wasson Paul, Becky Briggs Steve, Laura Bryan Stuart, Sarah Lavell Pat, Connie Searby Ned and step-grandfather to seventeen. The family prefers that those who wish may make contributions in his name to The Church of St. Dominic, 19000 Van Aken Blvd., Shaker Hts., OH 44122, The Foundation Fighting Blindness, 7168 Columbia Gateway Dr. #100, Columbia, MD 21046 or The Cleveland Rotary Foundation, 1122 Prospect Ave., Cleveland, OH 44115. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, March 10, at 10 AM at The Church of St. Dominic, 19000 Van Aken Blvd., at Norwood Rd. in Shaker Hts. Burial at Lake View Cemetery will follow the Mass. Friends may call at Brown-Forward , 17022 Chagrin Blvd., Shaker Hts., OH on Friday March 9th from 2 to 4 PM and 6 to 8 PM. For further obituary information and video, please cut and paste the following link onto your browser: http://news.brown-forward.com/notable-obituaries/richard-l-greiner / Or you can follow the link to "Notable Obituaries" located on our main Home Page.


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