The last time Scott and Karen Reinke of Pueblo heard from their son Gavin was in an e-mail he sent them Wednesday from Baghdad.
It turned out to be the day before he died.
“Be sure to tell people you love them,” his mother said Gavin told her.
Staff Sgt. Gavin B. Reinke, 32, was one of two soldiers killed Thursday in Baghdad after a bomb detonated near their military vehicle.
The other soldier killed in the attack was Spec. Bryan Quinton, 24, of Sand Springs, Okla.
Both men served with the 5th Engineer Battalion, 1st Engineer Brigade at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.
“He gave his life for his men,” Karen Reinke said.
Gavin Reinke was a 1993 graduate of Pueblo Central High School and attended Pueblo Community College, where he studied Spanish.
He married Carole Clayton, and they have a daughter, Cayleigh, 3.
Gavin was born in New Jersey.
His parents said he was deployed for his second tour of duty in Iraq in November.
Scott Reinke said his son enjoyed hunting, the outdoors and basketball.
“He loved to go fishing with his daughter,” Scott Reinke said.
The Reinke family said a funeral service will probably be held at Fort Leonard Wood, with burial in Arlington National Cemetery.
Gavin is survived by his wife, his daughter, his parents, and his brother, Darin, of Pueblo.
Staff writer Annette Espinoza can be reached at 303-820-1655 or aespinoza@denverpost.com.
