Eleanor Reibel Obituary (1930 - 2014)

REIBEL Eleanor Reibel, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, relative and friend. Born Eleanora Elvira Mannino, September 12, 1930, in Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she passed away November 15, 2014, in Columbus, Ohio. Raised on 9th Street in the heart of the Italian enclave of south Philadelphia, her parents Anna (nee Nuciforo) and Antonio “Nino” Mannino both had roots in Graniti, Messina Province, Sicily, where Nino was born. Eleanor was bright and talented, attending the elite Girl’s High School in Philadelphia. She excelled academically and participated in gymnastics, field hockey and other sports. After high school she attended Jefferson Hospital (now Jefferson University) School of Nursing, receiving her RN certification and license in 1951. Eleanor later earned a BS in Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1954 Eleanor married Kurt Reibel, the beginning of a sixty year marriage lasting the rest of her life. She continued working as a nurse while Kurt earned his PhD in physics and worked as a post-doctoral scholar at the University of Pennsylvania. Daughter Linda “Leah“ and son Michael were born in Philadelphia, and after Kurt accepted a tenure track faculty appointment at Ohio State University in Columbus, Eleanor continued to work part-time as a nurse and gave birth to David Enrico. A lifelong believer in the benefits of higher education, Eleanor somehow managed to earn an MS in nursing degree from Ohio State in 1967, while juggling her family and work obligations. As her children grew up, and through family stays in Geneva, Switzerland during Kurt’s sabbaticals in 1968-69 and 1975-76, Eleanor continued to pursue her career in nursing education and policy. She taught as a lecturer for many years in the Ohio State University School of Nursing and as an analyst consulting with the Ohio Attorney General’s office of crime victim compensation. She also had a longstanding consulting career with the World Health Organization, as part of a traveling team of nurse educators providing crash courses to quickly train midwives in developing countries. In this role she worked in the Philippines (twice), Egypt, India and Bahrain. Eleanor earned her Doctorate in Education from Ohio State in 1982, with training in curriculum development and program evaluation. She was hired as Deputy Director of the Ohio Board of Nursing, which is responsible for accrediting nursing schools and administering the Nurse Practice Act. In her two years at the Board, Eleanor inspected every nursing school in the state. Working closely with daughter Leah, who was Committee Secretary for the Ohio Senate State Government, Health and Human Resources Committee, she successfully lobbied for major changes to the nurse practice act that gave licensed nurse practitioners the right to prescribe medicine, serve as midwives and otherwise provide health care services independently of medical doctors. Similar policies have been adopted by most other states. After their retirement Eleanor and Kurt enjoyed long trips to Australia and South America. She is survived by her husband Kurt Reibel, her children Linda “Leah” Reibel, Michael Reibel (Moira Regelson) of Sierra Madre, CA, David Reibel (Karen Donovan) of Ipswich, MA; and her five grandchildren Joseph, Lucius, Brendan, Vera and Emmett Reibel. In Philadelphia, she is survived by her brother Anthony Mannino; sister in law Evelyn Reibel; nieces Michelle Reibel, Diane Reibel and Annita Tedesco; nephews Peter Tedesco and Anthony Mannino, grand-nieces and nephews, cousins and many friends.