Obituary
David Martin Rebstock passed away peacefully at home in Rochester, Minnesota on Saturday, October 21 at the age of 86. He is remembered for having been a loving husband to Ellen, father to Mark, Tim and Peter, and for having lived a life of global service. He cared deeply about the world, its people, and the challenges facing our planet.
He was born in Waterford, Wisconsin December 9, 1936 to Milton and Alfreda Rebstock. He has fond memories of playing in the Fox River there and took great pride in his fishing boat, his newspaper route, and working at an early age.
He studied at Luther College in Iowa and completed his BA in Accounting at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he also served in ROTC.
He served in the United States Army from 1959-1961 and was stationed in Stuttgart, Germany. While there, he took advantage of leaves to explore Italy, Spain, and Scandinavia.
After the Army, he returned to the University of Wisconsin, as he said, to get his Masters and his Mrs. He had met Ellen Vinette Long in 1962 while at the University of Wisconsin and they were married in 1965. Their family soon grew with the arrival of Mark, Tim and Peter.
He worked as a CPA at Arthur Anderson from 1964-1976. David and Ellen joined the Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICA), a human development organization in 1976. While with the ICA, he made economic development treks to communities throughout Southeast Asia, Jamaica, and the United States.
As a family, David and Ellen and their three boys lived in more than 25 places in 58 years of marriage including Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Scheveningen, Netherlands; Chicago, Illinois; Singapore; San Francisco and Los Angeles, California; Kingston, Jamaica; Cincinnati, Ohio; Sacramento and Santa Rosa, California; Greensboro, North Carolina; Baltimore, Maryland; Rochester, Minnesota; and for 8 months, an R.V. named Maggie.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Milton and Alfreda Rebstock. He is survived by his sister, Barbara Bucholtz; wife, Ellen; his sons, Mark, Tim and Peter; daughters in law, Tracy and Katherine; and grandchildren, Charlie and Anna.
A celebration of life service is being planned by his family for later this Fall.
Gifts in David’s memory may be made to the Institute of Cultural Affairs-USA.
Memories
Dear Ellen and Rebstock family, Dick and I were deeply saddened this week at the death of a long time friend, David. And had great rememberings: from him digging in the Bubun vegetable garden in the deadly tropical heat, being in Kansas City and Lorimor when you had kids there, to finance treks to the HDP locations, the trip in your van in 2000 from Denver to Vail with the Lanphears for the Order gathering, book studies and conversations with Mariana Bailey, and more. In gratitude,
~~ Dick and Gail West
Dear Ellen and all the family, For David’s long life among us and his servant-leadership around the globe, I am filled with gratitude. Love, God’s Grace and Peace,
~~ Ellen Howie
Your father played a special role in my life . He was supportive when I was completing my accounting degree with my two small children while I lived at Kemper. A very caring and compassionate person. I am sorry for your loss.
~~ Katherine Sharko
We were sorry to learn the news of David’s passing. We too join our colleagues in celebrating David’s extraordinary life. Our first memories of David go back to knowing him at the Kemper Building in the late 70s. David was using his expertise in working with HDPs to develop economic projects during that time. Fast forward to 2011 or so. David and Ellen moved to the Baltimore area and we eagerly invited them to join our DC/Baltimore House Church group. We discovered David was an imaginal educator, insightful teacher and wonderful film facilitator. His intellect was dedicated to the service of the earth in crisis and justice for all. We are grateful for the gifts he shared with the order, those he encountered in the many places he worked and with us. We send our love and prayers to Ellen, Mark, Tim, Peter and the other dear family members. Grace and peace,
~~ Jack and Louise Ballard
Ellen and family, I know the grieving process is long. May the memories hold you close and perhaps you’ll experience what I’ve been told are “hugs from the inside.” David was such a quiet force of nature. I appreciate our time of connection. Blessings,
~~ Sunny Walker
Ken and I will miss David’s profound care for the Order and the world. We will miss long talks with David and Ellen in Chicago and in many places where we shared global adventures. Our thoughts are with Ellen, Mark, Peter and Tim. May peace be with you all,
~~ Mary Laura Jones and Ken Otto
Dear Ellen and family, Jim and I send our deepest condolences to you all in your sadness over David’s passing on. I found it a great pleasure to reconnect with David when we both took part in The Last Chapter series. David always was interested in what was happening in Australia especially around the Oombulgurri project. We are grateful his life touched ours in a very meaningful way, thank you for sharing him with us. With our prayers and our love,
~~ Isobel and Jim Bishop
Awesome fellow. I always will remember that sort of squint he did before he made a comment!! I am richer for having known him — and Ellen and you boys!! I ran across this poem. It seems relevant, to many of us, particularly to David.
~~ Jim Wiegel
Perfection Wasted
And another regrettable thing about death
is the ceasing of your own brand of magic,
which took a whole life to develop and market —
the quips, the witticisms, the slant
adjusted to a few, those loved ones nearest
the lip of the stage, their soft faces blanched
in the footlight glow, their laughter close to tears,
their tears confused with their diamond earrings,
their warm pooled breath in and out with your heartbeat,
their response and your performance twinned.
The jokes over the phone. The memories
packed in the rapid-access file. The whole act.
Who will do it again? That’s it: no one;
imitators and descendants aren’t the same.
John Updike
