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Sam Rieger ’63 and his wife Wanda have received an award for which they wish they were never eligible.
At the 10th Annual Melanie Ilene Rieger Memorial Conference Against Violence, the Riegers were honored with the Connecticut Victims of Crime Award, presented by victim advocacy groups.
The conference is named for their daughter, Melanie, who was murdered in 1994 by her boyfriend, a violent man whom Sam Rieger says his daughter was trying to leave.
“Our daughter was dealing with someone who was and had been violent toward her and she was trying to get out,” he recalls. “We didn’t know that was the most dangerous time – when the person tries to leave.”
Since his daughter’s murder and the subsequent conviction of her killer, Rieger has been working for more than victim advocacy. He speaks at schools, fraternal organizations, and anywhere else he can to educate people not only about the judicial system, but also about violence awareness and how to combat it.
“Of course, there would be no violence and murder in a perfect world,” Rieger says from his home in Waterbury, Conn. “But the main thing is to educate people to reduce violent crimes.”
The chemistry graduate has spent most of his life as an educator, including 30 years as a chemistry professor at Naugatuk College before retiring in 1997. The Riegers sold their travel agency at the beginning of the year. They both still work there — that is, when they aren’t occupied with their primary passion.
Next year’s conference, scheduled again for April, will include Denise Brown, sister of murder victim Nicole Brown Simpson. The focus of the event will be domestic violence.
“After the conference ends, we take off two months and then get right into planning the next one,” Rieger says. “If I were an executive director of something like this, I’d make $150-$200,000, but of course, I’m not paid at all.
“If we save just one life, all of our work is worth it.”