IN LOVING MEMORY: Dean Rothermel Remembered

by John Boch
Dean Rothermel was one of many great friends I’ve made at Guns Save Life over the years.  Dean loved guns and shooting.  He was always at a gun show, Liberty Guns or his White Barn gunshop before that it seemed.  When it came to Ruger firearms, Dean was the guy to see for custom work.

One of Dean’s best friends from way back was the Indy 1500 gun show promoter Bob Lacrone.  Dean told us that many years ago, Mr. Lacrone personally challenged Dean to do something meaningful, in person, that was larger than himself to ensure future generations would be able to share Dean’s passion in shooting.

About that time, Dean heard about a monthly meeting of gun rights enthusiasts less than an hour from his home.  That meeting was for the predecessor group to Guns Save Life.

At that first meeting, Dean found something far more than he expected.  It was a group of educated, intelligent and passionate people sharing their fondness for freedom and firearm civil rights.  “These weren’t wild-eyed radicals, or dumb rednecks,” Dean recalled.

He kept coming and continued to be impressed.

Soon, Dean had found a home and new friends.  Over the years, both good and bad, Dean was a regular at our meetings and somehow managed to find time to help with projects big and small, not the least of which was our highway sign program.

I worked many a sign detail with Dean, riding shotgun as we hauled tools and sign panels in Dean’s big Dodge pickup truck.  He and I and many others worked shoulder-to-shoulder, erecting sign sets that have since been seen over a billion times by passersby.

Those signs entertain travelers and commuters each day, silently and subtly influencing readers towards our way of thinking on gun rights.  It was one program of many where Dean helped do things far bigger than himself.  He helped change the attitudes and beliefs of millions of Americans to be far more pro-gun than they were back in the early- to mid-1990s.

Dean helped the cause in countless other ways as well, and served as a Director of Guns Save Life for many of the last ten years, bringing his firearm business expertise and enthusiasm to help us grow.

Personally, our friendship continued to flourish over the years and recently, Dean was an usher at my wedding.  It seemed a natural position as he knew, or was known by, almost everyone from my side of the ceremony.    Not that it mattered though as Dean was liked by pretty much everyone he ever met.  That explains in part why it was almost impossible to find parking within five blocks of his funeral visitation.

He was well-liked for good reason:  he was a prototypical nice guy with a sense of humor and an eternal optimism.  His knowledge, honesty, ethics – and patriotism – ran wide and deep.

Even in his illness at the end, he still did things far bigger than himself.

In one of many nondescript medical center waiting rooms, he overheard some people talking about a relative’s unwanted pregnancy.  He struck up a conversation, and put the family together with his church pastor.  Dean knew his pastor had for many years struggled with fertility issues in his marriage.

Today, the pastor and his wife are finalizing the adoption of that newborn baby, forever grateful to Dean Rothermel for helping God answer their prayers for a child of their own.

Just as America misses its Founding Fathers, America  too will miss Dean Rothermel.

Rest assured his work, like that of our Founding Fathers, will live on, influencing people on a daily basis towards the freedom and liberty Dean held so dear.

Thank you Lord, for sending us men like Dean Rothermel, men rarer and more precious than diamonds.

Be sure to read the “thank you” from Dean’s widow Sharon Rothermel.