Richard Leonhard Rost

Rost, Richard "Dick" Leonhard
Age 91, died suddenly at home in Janesville, WI, on Saturday, June 26, 2010. Mr. Rost was born on May 9, 1919, in Park Ridge, IL. He attended St. Andrew's Lutheran School and Maine Township High School. He worked as a mechanical engineer and inventor in the electronics industry, primarily for Zenith Radio, for 40 years. At the time of his retirement, he was credited with 10 patents under the Zenith brand. Dick married Gertrude L. Halfpap on Nov. 28, 1942, in Park Ridge. They lived in Long Island, NY, during World War II while he worked on the development of radar with Zenith. They moved to rural Barrington, IL, in 1947 and raised their three children there. Gertrude died in 1983. Dick later re-married to Donnamae Klotz on May 16, 1992, in Minocqua, WI. They lived in Lake Tomahawk, WI, until the fall of 2009, when Richard moved to Cedar Crest in Janesville. Dick was a three-handicap golfer in his day, playing in a Zenith league. His lifelong interest in aviation brought him back every year to the Experimental Aircraft Association airshow in Oshkosh, WI. He never met a gadget he didn't like and could fix anything. In addition to his wife Donnamae, Dick is survived by his children Rita (Thomas J.) Rost Howley, Mt. Prospect, IL; Philip V. (Eleanor) Rost, Great Falls, VA; Elda "Eldrie" Rost Stone, Ventura, IA; Paul (Deb) Klotz, Bend, OR; Jack (Jill) Klotz, Atlanta, GA; Thom (Holly) Klotz, Janesville, WI; Beth Klotz Von Seggern, Laguna, NM; Nancy (Steve) Klotz Bennett, Lindsay, CA; and grandchildren, David Stone, Daniel Stone, Heidi Hall, James Klotz, Erin Wherry, Jenny Brod, Gretchen Klotz, Hillary Klotz, Heather Klotz, Megan Bennett, and Ashley Bennett. Private family services are planned. Memorials are suggested to Opportunity Village, PO Box 622, Clear Lake, IA 50428 (www.oppvill.org), or to a charity of the donor's choice.

This obituary was originally published in the Antioch Review.