Obituary of Jared Evan Rieckewald

For Livestream of events:

Chapel Service:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylo8g_QlZvo

Quantico National Cemetery Service:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5sGwA0cOYI

Celebration of Life:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXFNszD41ks

Jared Evan Rieckewald passed away unexpectedly and peacefully in his sleep on February 22nd, 2023, at the age of 44. He is survived and deeply missed by his wife of seventeen years, Sara, and their two children, — Eva (16) and Jack (14), as well as his dogs, Oscar and Rosie. Jared is also survived by his mother, Sharon, his brother, Jason, his sister-in-law, Heather, and his nieces and nephews, James, Helena, and Jeremy. He is preceded in death by his father, John.

Jared was born in Los Angeles, California where both his parents were educators. He attended Wilson High School with his brother and was a triple-varsity athlete in golf, basketball, and football. He was the Valedictorian of his graduating class. He later moved to the East Coast to attend Georgetown University on an ROTC scholarship in the United States Marine Corps and earned a Bachelors of Science in Foreign Service.

Over his six-year Marine service, Jared served as an Intelligence Officer stationed at Camp Pendleton, Korea, Kuwait, and Iraq. He led intelligence collection, analysis, and dissemination efforts for tactical helicopter units at the Squadron and Group level in training and combat. He personally briefed hundreds of combat and combat support missions during the first year of OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM with no loss of life or aircraft to enemy action. He continued his service stateside as an Operational Test Project Officer for ISR and Counter-IED Systems at Quantico, testing and managing ISR acquisitions programs supporting Marine Corps Intelligence units.

Shortly after arriving in Virginia in the fall of 2004, he made the best decision of his life by joining friends to play guitar at The Front Page in Dupont Circle, where he first met his future wife, Sara. They fell in love quickly and were engaged in less than a year. They married on January 14, 2006, and started their family together shortly after, which became the center of his life.

Honorably discharged from the Corps in 2006, Jared continued his passion for learning by acquiring two additional degrees from his beloved alma mater - a Masters of Public Policy and a Masters of Science in Finance and Accounting. He put them to good use at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, where he received the National Intelligence Reform Medal, served on the Senate Select Intelligence Committee as a joint staff member, and then joined Northrop Grumman, where he worked for over 10 years.

Jared is known by all for his quick wit and glaring intelligence, as well as his remarkable ability to find a movie quote for any given situation. There are innumerable things for us to miss about him, including, — though certainly not limited to, — his affinity for playing basically the same three Dave Matthews Band songs on his guitar, his incredible love and talent for dancing, his trivia prowess, and his frighteningly accurate King Julian impression.

Jared was an extremely devoted husband and father, and worked unbelievably hard for the benefit of those around him. His pride for his family and his love for adventure made his life so fulfilling. Jared fit many lifetimes of excitement into his 44 years, and found great happiness in traveling and finding new experiences with his wife and children.

Though his loss breaks our hearts and fills us with unspeakable sadness, Jared will always be fondly remembered for his impressive accomplishments, goofy personality, generous nature, brilliant mind, loving heart, and the joy he brought to those around him.

There will be a memorial service held in his honor on Thursday, March 2nd, at 11:00am, at the Semper Fidelis Memorial Chapel preceding his burial at Quantico National Cemetery at 12:30pm, and it will be followed by a Celebration of Life Reception 1-3pm, National Museum of the Marine Corps, Medal of Honor, 2nd Deck Lobby.  Sharing of stories and love.

There will be an online broadcast option for those unable to physically attend. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Honor Flight in Jared’s memory.