Lionel England Rombach

Lionel England ("Lee") Rombach 93, died on January 24, 2008 at Tucson Medical Center following a brief illness. An unassuming man whose life was one of service, learning and simplicity, Lee was an avid bicyclist, an amateur artist, a deacon in the Roman Catholic Church, a devoted supporter of The University of Arizona, and a 60-year resident of the "Poet's Corner" neighborhood. Lee earned three UA degrees over the course of four decades. In 1943 he began a life of service with the Red Cross. As a social worker, juvenile and adult probation officer, and Chief of the Pima County Adult Probation Department, Mr. Rombach encountered and cared for many troubled people. Modest compensation is the norm in social service careers and those who engage in them leave their mark on the world through their daily work. For Lee Rombach, this was not enough. He lived a life of remarkable austerity, spending little and giving his savings to the cause he loved best: education. Over the years, he made substantial gifts to the University. He supported the Rombach Scholars, students studying for master's degrees in public administration. He endowed a student art gallery; scholarships for undergraduate students of interfaith/interdisciplinary studies; and, through a bequest, an institute that will focus on crime, delinquency and corrections. To date, nearly 200 students have received financial aid thanks to Lee's generosity. To recognize his extraordinary contributions and example, the University awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2000. Lee Rombach's name is not a household word. Most of us would not have known him as we passed him in the street. But his is truly a life to celebrate -- a life of public service, simplicity and generosity. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, February 2, 2008 at the Newman Center, 1615 East Second Street, Tucson. Those wishing to honor Lee's memory should do something to help a young person. To make a memorial gift they could consider two of the places where he encountered those young people: the Newman Center and The University of Arizona. At the University: the UA Religious Studies Program or the Rombach Institute on Crime, Delinquency and Corrections, both c/o the UA Foundation, 1111 N. Cherry Ave., P.O. Box 210109, Tucson, AZ 85721-0109.