David A. Rutlin

David A. Rutlin, 82, of St. Joseph, went to meet his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, at Hanson Hospice Center in Stevensville.

A Celebration of Life service will be held 11 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11, at Starks & Menchinger Chapel, 2650 Niles Road, St. Joseph, with Pastor Mike Gathright and Pastor Dan Colthorp officiating. Friends may visit with the family from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m. Wednesday, prior to the service. Private inurnment will take place at a later date at Riverview Cemetery in St. Joseph. Memorial donations in Dave's name may be made to Michigan Diabetes Association, Storyline Church or Pathway Global Methodist Church. Those wishing to sign Dave's memory book online may do so at www.starks-menchinger.com.

Dave was born Dec. 31, 1941, in Madison, Wis., to Donald and Phyllis Rutlin. He graduated from Wauwatosa High School, Class of 1960, before continuing his education at Valparaiso University with a bachelor degree in business and the Wisconsin Institute of Morturary Science in Milwaukee.

On June 20, 1987, he married the former Clare Elson Husek on the sailboat Serenade in the Margaret Upton Arboretum in St. Joseph. Dave was employed at Kerley & Starks Funeral Home for 28 years, and at Florin Funeral Service for four years before retiring from Filbrandt Funeral Home in South Haven in 2009. He was a compassionate funeral director who always believed that helping families was the last nice thing he could do for their loved ones.

David was a kind and gentle, fun and funny soul who loved everyone, and everyone loved him. He was a loving son, husband, father, stepfather and grandfather, and friend to all. He had an ideal youth, growing up in the Milwaukee area of Wauwatosa, Wis., and spending summers at his parents' cottage on Hills Lake, along with his sister Diane. He taught several generations of kids how to water-ski.

As an adult in Michigan, he was a charter member and past president of the Lakeshore Rotary Club, where he spent over 40 years in community service. Dave belonged to the St. Joseph River Yacht Club for many years and became an avid sailor. He sailed on races to Mackinac Island, the Tri-State Regatta, and many Wednesday evening and Saturday races with his good friends and sailboat partners Anson and Barbara Lovellette. He belonged to Trinity Lutheran Church and later St. Joseph Methodist Church (now Pathway Methodist Church), where he played in the handbell choir at both places. He most recently attended Storyline Church in St. Joseph, where he found a special relevance that enhanced his Christian faith.

In his later years, he traveled and cruised to numerous places with his wife Clare, and often with good friends Randy and Peggy Stinson. But his favorite times were spent at family gatherings and attending sporting events, band and orchestra events, and finally high school graduations for his four step-grandchildren. He especially enjoyed quiet times just talking with his son Daniel, wife Clare, and stepchildren Marni, Bobbie, Jim and extended family. He enjoyed watching his favorite football team the Green Bay Packers, deck-sitting, drives to Lake Michigan, or just having an ice cream cone. Everyone loved his sense of humor. He loved corny jokes and tall tales, and it was sometimes hard to know when he was just making up the stories. He will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him, but he will always be just a happy memory away.

Dave is survived by his wife Clare Rutlin, son Daniel Rutlin of St. Joseph, stepdaughters Marni Crowder of St. Joseph and Bobbie (Jim) Piesko of Holland, Mich., sister Diane (Charlie) Jack of Las Vegas, sisters-in-law Mary Lou Elson and Joan (Greg) Condon, step-grandchildren Dawson and Jaquilyn Crowder, Derek and Courtney Piesko, friend Robert Husek, and several nieces and nephews. Dave was preceded in death by his parents Don and Phyllis Rutlin and by his daughter Erica Rutlin.