Bob Riehm Obituary

September 1, 1937 - November 23, 2020

Bob Riehm began coaching men's wrestling and teaching at Southern Oregon University in 1969. For Bob, wrestling started in elementary school and continued through high school in his home town of Britt, Iowa. Bob then wrestled for coach D. McCuskey's teams at the University of Iowa. He taught and coached wrestling in Iowa, Nebraska and Illinois and received an MA from Truman University.

At SOU, Riehm coached 100 NAIA All-Americans and 13 national champions during his 25-year Raider coaching career that culminated following the 1993-1994 season. Riehm's teams won NAIA national championships in 1978, 1983 and 1994.  Eighteen of his teams finished in the top eight in national tournaments. The Raider wrestlers also won 12 NAIA regional championships and racked up a 270-71-2 dual meet record during Riehm's tenure at SOU.

Riehm finished his career having earned virtually every coaching distinction possible, including two National Coach of the Year awards, election to the presidency of the NAIA Coaches' Association and induction into the NAIA Hall of Fame.

In 2011 the Southern Oregon University sports arena was named the Bob Riehm Arena honoring his wrestling coaching and his community service. He was only the second wrestling coach in the country at that time to receive that honor.

Robert P. (Bob) Riehm was born Sept. 1, 1937 in Mason City, Iowa and died Nov. 23, 2020 in Medford, OR. Bob's parents, Paul and Alice (Johnson) Riehm; his sister, Patricia A. Riehm, of Britt, IA; and his brother-in-law, Wayne Bartley, Villa Park, CA, preceded him in death. He is survived by his sisters: Marvel Bartley, Villa Park, CA and Charlene Trotman (Frank) Edelstein, IL; nephew Matthew Bartley (Debbie) Hawthorne, CA; and nieces Lisa Bartley, Pasadena, CA, Laura Gray (Nathan), West Lafayette, IN and Lesley Reardon (Christopher) Fishers, IN and their family members in Iowa and Minnesota.

Bob was a sociable person who continued relationships with friends and former team members throughout the country for many years. Along with friends, he often attended the NCAA national wrestling tournaments.

Memorial contributions may be sent to the Bob Riehm Scholarship Fund at Southern Oregon University, 1250 Siskiyou Boulevard, Ashland OR 97520-9933.

There will be a Celebration of Life for Bob in Ashland at a date to be determined.