by Bill Fontana
As many of you know, West Reading’s Elm Street Manager, Dean Rohrbach passed away in October due to natural causes at the all too young age of 65. I did not, at that time, issue any sort of a personal statement, although we at PDC certainly mourns his loss along with the rest of West Reading, Reading and Berks County.
The trouble with issuing a personal statement about Dean was coming up with the right words to encompass a mind and talent as expansive as Dean's. Dean was brilliant, committed, dedicated and innovative when it came to community revitalization. My favorite “Dean-ism”? The statement he made when he won Manager of the Year in 2015. When Dean came up to accept his award, Dean remarked: “I would like to thank everyone who made this award possible…ME!” We all laughed. We knew Dean was joking, but only partially. The truth is, we all knew Dean was right.
So what do you say about Dean? It is kind of like the nun’s singing “How do you solve a problem like Maria” from Sound of Music. Much like Maria in the movie (or play, if you prefer), Dean was a conundrum for his (and the larger revitalization) community. He was unconventional. But Dean was successful in his field. And he made us laugh.
But more importantly than being successful or making us laugh, Dean was inspirational. Consider this segment on his passing from the Reading Eagle concerning the highly successful mural program Dean shepherded.
“One the artists who was part of the mural project was Katie Trainer of Lebanon. ‘He saw something in me that I hadn't developed yet,’ Trainer said. ‘He saw my passion and gave me the opportunity to do my first mural.’ Trainer considers Rohrbach one of her most important mentors and because of him is now pursuing a career in community revitalization. ‘He's my biggest inspiration,’ she said. ‘He'll always mean so much to me. He brought me into his world. He really did believe in me and I never had anyone do that before.’
Dean was a character. He could make you laugh, he could make you cry. He could fill you with joy as easily as he could leave you a bit perplexed. He could do great things and he could inspire you to do great things. And here's the thing:
Our profession needs more characters – more Deans. It’s the characters who make us want to be with each other, to be part of a professional community, to share the emotions, the highs and the lows, the good times and the bad. It’s the characters who allow their imaginations to take flight and take risks. It’s the characters who suffer the lowest lows but also the highest highs.
I will miss Dean. I will miss his booming voice. I will miss his idiosyncrasies. I will miss his laugh. I will miss him being part of our professional community. I will miss him as a friend. But maybe it’s selfish of me to want to keep him here just for us. After all, "how do you hold a moonbeam in your hand”?
God speed, Dean Rohrbach.