David Martin Rebstock passed away peacefully at home in Rochester, Minnesota on Saturday, October 21 at the age of 86. He is remembered for having been a loving husband to Ellen, Father to Mark, Tim and Peter, and for having lived a life of global service. He cared deeply about the world, its people, and the challenges facing our planet.
He was born in Waterford, Wisconsin December 9, 1936 To Milton and Alfreda Rebstock. He has fond memories of playing in the Fox River there and took great pride in his fishing boat, his newspaper route, and working at an early age.
He studied at Luther College in Iowa and completed his BA in Accounting at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he also served in ROTC.
He served in the United States Army from 1959-1961 and was stationed in Stuttgart, Germany. While there, he took advantage of leaves to explore Italy, Spain, and Scandinavia.
After the Army, he returned to the University of Wisconsin, as he said, to get his Masters and his Mrs. He had met Ellen Vinette Long in 1962 while at the University of Wisconsin and they were married in 1965. Their family soon grew with the arrival of Mark, Tim and Peter.
He worked as a CPA at Arthur Anderson from 1964-1976, and David and Ellen joined the Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICA), a human development organization in 1976. While with the ICA, he made economic development treks to communities throughout Southeast Asia, Jamaica, and the United States.
As a family, David and Ellen and their three boys lived in more than 25 places in 58 years of marriage including Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Scheveningen, Netherlands; Chicago, Illinois; Singapore; San Francisco and Los Angeles, California; Kingston, Jamaica; Cincinnati, Ohio; Sacramento and Santa Rosa, California; Greensboro, North Carolina; Baltimore, Maryland; Rochester, Minnesota; and for 8 months, an R.V. named Maggie.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Milton and Alfreda Rebstock. He is survived by his sister, Barbara Bucholtz; wife, Ellen; his sons, Mark, Tim and Peter; daughters in law, Tracy and Katherine; and grandchildren, Charlie and Anna.
A celebration of life service is being planned by his family for later this Fall.
Gifts in David’s memory may be made to the Institute of Cultural Affairs-USA. https://www.ica-usa.org/donate.html
Memories and condolences of David may be shared at rochestercremationservicesmn.com
Mark, I never met your Dad but I can tell he was a wonderful man, husband and father. Sending our best to you and your family.
What a wonderful soul, David Rebstock. We learned so much from him (and Ellen) when they lived in Santa Rosa, CA, and will forever be grateful for their friendship.
Dear Ellen- Hal and I were so sorry to hear of David’s passing. He was such a good person and a good friend. Brings back lots of memories.
Our best to you and the boys.
Betty and Hal
The last time we were with David and Ellen was in Santa Rosa California at the Westar Institute (Jesus Seminar) knowing them from our ICA connection. We lived with them in Singapore in the late ‘70s. We are so appreciative of these years of service and mission and remember David with love.