ALTAMONT — Robert L. Reals Sr., an art teacher and gardener, “died in the company of loved ones” on April 3, 2016, near his residence in Port Saint Lucie, Florida, his family wrote in a tribute. He was 86.

He was born in 1929 to Paul Reals and Bertha (née Streiff) Reals, a family that has lived in the Jamesville, New York area for over 200 years. He married Helen (née Banas) Reals, also of Jamesville, in 1954.  They lived in Altamont for 20 years and were members of Saint Lucy’s Church.

Mr. Reals was an art teacher for the Jamesville-Dewitt Central School District, and then a member of the New York State Education Art Department, before retiring in 1991.

In 2012, he received the New York State Media Arts Teachers Association

Award for “Leadership in Media Arts Education.”  

“He was integral in the formation of the school of media arts, which was created in 1976, and continues to nurture gifted high school students over 45 years later,” his family wrote.

“Bob... was also inspired by gardening, genealogy, and community service,” they wrote. “He often quoted his father who said, ‘You don’t have to be afraid. The Old Man up there will take care of you.’ He will be remembered as a courageous, dedicated, and loving man.”  

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Robert L. Reals Sr. is survived by his wife, Helen (née Banas) Reals; his long-time companion, Lois McAllester; his siblings, Jeanette “Peg” Chapman, and her husband, Carl, Harold Reals and his wife, Annette, and Nancy Freeman, and her husband, David, all of whom remain Jamesville residents; his children, Robert Reals Jr., of Concord, New Hampshire; Gabrielle Reals, of Schenectady; Rebecca Love, of Silverdale, Washington; Nathaniel Reals, of Saratoga Springs; and Sara Bohn of Blacksburg, Virginia; his 12 grandchildren; his two great-granddaughters; and several nieces and nephews.

His brother, Russell Reals, died before him.  

A celebration of his life and interment at the Walnut Grove Cemetery in Jamesville, New York, will be planned at a later date.

Memorial contributions may be made to www.JamesvilleCommunityMuseum.com, Post Office Box 76, Jamesville, NY 13078.