[AT] Dave Rotigel

Indiana Robinson robinson46176 at gmail.com
Fri Nov 10 02:21:08 PST 2017


I can't remember which one of us started the "Evil Dave" handle for him...
Maybe George Willer? Hell, it might have been me. Sounds like something I
would do.  :-)  I just don't recall. Does anyone remember? I know that I
used it a lot. I think that he took it as a compliment.  :-)
Many of his more toxic tirades came on weekend nights and some were pretty
garbled. I used to accuse him of posting while intoxicated... On fairly
rare occasions he emailed me privately and those were always totally
friendly. I used to see him often at Portland and he used to stop by some
evenings to sit at the AT campfire for a while. Those visits were always
friendly as far as I recall.
A number of years ago I was able to be in TN visiting one of our daughters
who then lived quite close to the Smokies and timed it to include a visit
to the tractor show at Ashville NC. That gave me a chance to meet Charlie
Hill in person. I knew that  Charlie was planning to be there. While at
that show I spotted Dave tending his display there. He was doing what Dave
did best, he was answering questions and trying to educate people about his
engines. His drive to educate is what I choose to remember of him. When I
walked up to him he grabbed my hand and about shook it off. We had a very
nice visit.
RIP...


.

On Fri, Nov 10, 2017 at 2:58 AM, Dean VP <deanvp at att.net> wrote:

> There were times when Dave actually made me very angry but over the years I
> learned to understand him better. Only one time I called him on something
> that had hit a sore spot for me and when I brought it privately to his
> attention he immediately apologized.  I gained a lot of respect for him on
> this issue. But after awhile I thought I was starting to understand him as
> an educator who would make off the wall statements to generate a fruitful
> discussion.  But as soon as I started thinking I had him figured out ....
> BOOM,  I was totally confused again and quite often upset about something.
> .
> My guess is he may have had to deal with ADHD issues in his life. IMHO, he
> just didn't give a rats @ss about things he said. He just the dropped the
> turd on the table to see what would happen next. He really enjoyed stirring
> the pot.  I suspect I disagreed with him way more than I agreed with him
> but
> I will still miss him. As we now recognize there was way more under the
> cover than what we realized. RIP Dave.
>
> Dean VP
> Snohomish, WA 98290
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
> [mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of Spencer Yost
> Sent: Wednesday, November 8, 2017 6:33 PM
> To: Antique tractor email discussion group <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
> Subject: Re: [AT] Dave Rotigel
>
> Yep Steve, Dave was always full of surprises.  I knew him well enough to
> know he was a retired professor (in fact, after one of our charity auctions
> years ago he asked that we donate $250 to the alumni scholarship fund in
> Indiana University of Pennsylvania, which I did).
>
> But as always, he continued to surprise me in death.  I am absolutely
> positive I did not know he served in the military. Which he had to of to
> get
> a VFW honor guard for his burial.  In fact, I understand you don't get that
> from just simply being in the military. Steve Sewell indicated you had to
> serve overseas, and I've even heard from others that even that was not
> enough; that you  had a serve in  a theater of war.  Not sure but it's an
> insignificant point as the real point is he clearly treated his service
> with
> the humility and respect it deserved.
>
> He will be missed and proof positive you can't judge a book by its cover.
> He was no saint but he was no sinner either; contrary to  the occasional
> popular opinion.
>
> I second Steve's send off:   God speed, Dave
>
> Spencer Yost
>
> > On Nov 8, 2017, at 3:47 PM, Stephen Offiler <soffiler at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > Godspeed, Dave.
> >
> > Much of what Spencer and others have already said echoes my own thoughts.
> > Dave was a unique individual, one who never feared stirring the pot.
> > I met him on my trips to Portland back in the 1990's where he was an
> > important fixture at the campfire.  I must admit my surprise in reading
> his
> > obituary.   I never realized he was a PhD and a career professor in the
> > field of Education.
> >
> >
> > Regards,
> > Steve O.
> >
> >
> >
> >> On Wed, Nov 8, 2017 at 10:50 AM, Spencer Yost <yostsw at atis.net> wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >> I need to relay some sad news:  Dave Rotigel, a long time SEL and AT
> >> list member (one of the original) and very ardent supporter of ATIS
> >> in general, passed away Monday from cancer.  He was 79.
> >>
> >> Many of you know Dave Rotigel from the engine and tractor shows -
> >> particularly Portland.  Even those of you that don't know him
> >> personally; you know him from the posts he made here on AT and SEL.
> >> Always shocking, always irreverent, Dave was nonetheless smart,
> >> funny, dependable, honest, and insightful.  We saw eye to eye on
> >> nearly nothing yet I always looked forward to seeing him and I
> >> considered him a friend.  His engines and tractors were always some
> >> of the best examples of restoration and his big Galloway engine is
> >> nearly legendary.  I envied his knowledge and abilities and I wish I
> >> had half his competence and acumen.  He was an integral part of the
> >> "Great West Virginia and Pennsylvania Oil Field Engine Hunt" - the one
> where I found my 25HP Ball oilfield engine - and was a big part of the
> >> later excavator extraction of said engine.   He helped me get it running
> >> and was instrumental in that restoration's success.
> >>
> >> His last post to this list, just a few weeks ago was:  "Life is good."
> >>
> >> Indeed Dave.  Thanks for the memories.
> >>
> >> His wife passed along his obituary and I include it below; I think it
> was
> >> published this morning and you can probably catch it online too.   Brice
> >> will be making the announcement to the engine list and will formulate
> >> a group/ATIS plan for flowers or a donation.  No instructions are In
> >> the obituary but we are reaching out to a close friend of his to see
> >> if there is anything the family would prefer.
> >>
> >> My condolences to his hundreds of other friends on both lists.
> >>
> >>
> >> Spencer Yost
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Dr. David Emery Rotigel, 79, of Bonita Springs, Fla., formerly of
> >> Greensburg, Pa. and Indiana, Pa., died Monday, November 6, 2017.  He
> >> was born November 10, 1937, in Detroit, Mich., son of the late Joseph
> >> and Fern M. Emery Rotigel.
> >>
> >> He was married to Jennifer Vickers Rotigel of Greensburg PA on
> >> November 14th, 1981, and they had 36 wonderful years together that
> >> included raising
> >> 6 children. Dave enjoyed living in the country and was an avid
> >> gardener, house builder, hunter, woodworker, and lover of all things
> mechanical.
> >>
> >> Dave received his doctoral degree in Philosophy of Education from the
> >> University of Illinois. He served as a professor for 39 years, first
> >> at the University of Indiana and subsequently at Indiana University
> >> of Pennsylvania. He was chair of the Foundations of Education
> >> Department and Coordinator of the Langley/IUP Urban Teaching Center
> >> in Pittsburgh, PA. He was an active professional and made many
> >> presentations and published many professional articles. Dave was a
> >> gifted educator and enjoyed mentoring novice teachers.
> >>
> >> Dave was a loving husband and father who was very involved with his
> >> children and their activities. He served as Packmaster of Cub Scout
> >> Troup
> >> 212 in Delmont for a number of years and coached his sons' dek hockey
> >> and baseball teams. He was also active in the Pennsylvania
> >> Association for Gifted Education.
> >>
> >> An active member of the Fort Allen Antique Farm Equipment
> >> Association, he enjoyed repairing and restoring antique farm
> >> equipment, especially Hit and Miss Engines. He loved attending engine
> >> shows all over the country and showing his many engines and tractors.
> >> Dave was widely sought for his expertise and experience and was
> >> instrumental in several large projects to preserve the historical
> >> nature of the equipment he loved. Dave was internationally known and
> >> kept in touch with his engine friends around the world.
> >>
> >> He is survived by his wife, Jennifer Vickers Rotigel of Bonita
> >> Springs, Fl.; children: Seely Emery (Tammy) Rotigel of Kalamazoo,
> >> Mich., David John
> >> (Misty) Rotigel, of York, Pa., Todd Michael (Tina O'Hara) Rotigel, of
> Mt.
> >> Pulaski, Ill., Pedro Martin (Marisa) Bidegaray, of Miami, Fla.,
> >> Daniel Leslie (Brigid) Rotigel, of Bonita Springs, Fla., and Michael
> >> Steven Rotigel, of N. Fort Myers, Fla.; a granddaughter, Sydney
> >> Rotigel-Finegan, and a grandson, Pedro Julian Bidegaray.
> >>
> >> Family and friends will be received from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m.
> >> Friday, November 10th at BARNHART FUNERAL HOME, 505 E. Pittsburgh
> >> St., Greensburg, Pa.  A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m.
> >> Saturday in the funeral home.  Entombment with full military honors
> >> accorded by the VFW Post 33, will follow at St. Clair Cemetery,
> >> Greensburg, Pa.  For online condolences, visit BarnhartFuneralHome.com.
> >>
> >>
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-- 
-- 

Francis Robinson
aka "farmer"
Central Indiana USA
robinson46176 at gmail.com



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