On September 8th, Don Rottler, brought a life cherished and well-lived, in for a smooth and final landing.
He was a skilled and disciplined pilot and as a passenger one always felt confident that the destination would be safely reached whether flying through tough weather into a remote strip in Alaska or high above the continental divide en route to a gathering in the Midwest. Flying was something that he enjoyed immensely as well, perhaps a view of the infinite and a sense of peace and grandeur temporarily removed from day-to-day earth-bound activities.
His work was designing and building machine tools sold around the world to companies large and small. Passionate about this work, he took particular interest in helping get a small proprietor set up in such a way that would facilitate that person having more success than they thought possible.
Don is survived by his wife, Barbara Rottler, sons Steve and Andy (Sandy), and grandchildren Alexandra and Karin. All will greatly miss Don's friendship, intelligence, curiosity, generosity, sense of possibility, and positive demeanor.