Obituary:

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 11, Issue 508, 19 October 1993, Page 8 (Supplement)

Obituary:

Lorenz Rieser Lorenz Rieser, a well-known Whakapapa identity who died last week, was farewelled by over 400 people at a memorial service held at the Grand Chateau last Monday. He was 59. Mr Rieser, a skilled engineer, was seconded from his native Switzerland by the founding chairman of Ruapehu Alpine Lifts, Sir Bryan Todd, who put his exceptional skill to work on developing the field. Mr Rieser became chief engineer in 1961 and developed a reputation among his workers as a hard task-master. A long-time acquaintance, Tony Mosaed, recalled: "He did everything in those early days - he was ski field manager, engineer and in charge of ticket saies." "He was Whakapapa." "Lorenz worked himself hard and expected everyone else to do the same. Nobody could do the job better." Another friend, Trevor Reynolds, said: "The mountain was his life. He loved the work and did it to the best of his ability." Mr Reynolds recalled an occasion when a part on a lift's subsidiary motor broke and needed replacing. The piece could only be found in Hastings, so Mr Reynolds was airlifted by helicopter (still in his ski gear) to Hastings to retrieve the part. "The pilot wasn't sure where the airport was so he landed in someone's back yard to ask directions", said Mr Reynolds. "We were back at Whakapapa that afternoon and Lorenz replaced the part there and then." Mr Rieser was a devoted family man, with his first marriage producing two children. He remarried, to Nancy, with the couple living in the Ruapehu region, close to the mountain that Mr Rieser loved.