On September 27, 2019, Max Kreiter walked the last step of his 91 year journey of life here on earth and went to be with his Lord in Heaven. In the arms of his family, surrounded by love, singing hymns and praising the Lord, he left us with peace and joy in his heart.

Max was born to Maxwell and Ruth Kreiter in the small town of Auburn, Washington in 1928. His humble nature was forged as a child of the “Great Depression”. His love of God’s creation was nurtured by his outings, fishing and hiking along Soos Creek and the Green River. His work ethic was molded by several summers spent on his Aunt and Uncle’s farm in Idaho where he learned to ride horses and buck hay. His loving and caring heart was guided by Jesus Christ through study of the Bible from the age of 13 to his passing. After graduating from Auburn High School, he married the love of his life, Betty Jean Bradford, his best friend and partner for the next 71 years. With her love, help and support, he graduated from Seattle University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering.

The next great step of their journey together took them “east of the mountains” to Richland, Washington, where in 1951, Max went to work for General Electric, a sub-contractor of the Atomic Energy Commission’s Hanford Labs. He worked on many different engineering projects to further Nuclear Energy research in this Country. During this time, Max and Betty started their family and made frequent trips “back home” to Auburn. Max also loved to hunt and fish in Eastern Washington and played baseball in the company baseball league. He continued to play trumpet and listen to his beloved jazz music. Many of their dear and long lasting friendships were created during this time. In 1965 General Electric left Richland and Max went to work for Battelle Northwest Labs, until his retirement in 1993. He served in both Project Engineer and Project Management capacities on a variety of projects ranging from orchard heating to vitrification of nuclear waste for long term storage. His vitrification work earned him the opportunity to be a keynote speaker at an International Nuclear Energy Conference in Paris, France.

In retirement Max pursued his childhood dream of learning to fly. He obtained his pilot’s license at the age of 66 and actively flew to the age of 85. Max and Betty followed their dreams of international travel together. Europe was a common destination and one highlight was a trip to Norway with Max’s mother Ruth, to visit their family village, farm and the church his Grandfather was christened in. Max loved his family and found joy in his grandchildren and great grandchildren. He joined the Kiwanis organization and found much joy in working on their SIGN project, an international humanitarian effort to ease suffering in developing countries by performing surgical procedures to repair broken bones.

Max is survived by his beloved wife, Betty Kreiter, sister Sandra Hixenbaugh, sister-in-law Wanda Bradford, sons Kevin (Sonja) Kreiter, Mark (Trish) Kreiter, Matt (Liz) Kreiter, 9 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren, 3 nieces and 4 nephews, all of whom he loved dearly.

Max lived a rich, blessed and humble life, loved his family, friends, his Country, God and Jesus Christ. In the end, he wanted to share that the essence of his 76 years of bible study could be found in the book of John 3:16.

A “Celebration of Life” ceremony will be held on Saturday, October 19, 2019 from 2:00-5:00PM in the Sunset Gardens Event Center, 915 By Pass Highway, Richland, WA 99352. Donations may be made on behalf of Max Kreiter to the SIGN Organization,451 Hills St, Ste B, Richland, WA 99354.