Donald Dreisbach, 78, passed away surrounded by his loving family on November 11, 2022. Known lovingly as “Don”, “Dad”, “Doc”, “Mr. D”, and “Poppy” to those who knew and loved him, Donald is survived by his wife Judith of South Kingstown, RI, his daughter Shaun and her husband Philip Tucker of Essex, VT, daughter Megan and her husband Kevin Catalano of Gillette, NJ, and daughter Valley and her husband Matthew Turk of Providence, RI. He is also survived by his six grandchildren: Jackson, Campbell, Cameron, Sam, Bennett and Adeline.

There is no good way to sum up one’s life in only a few sentences, especially one lived by a man with such a big personality. Don was born in Danville, PA, to Donald and Winifred (Bobb) Dreisbach and later attended Gettysburg College where he met his wife of 56 years, Judith Davies. He then obtained Master's degrees at Temple University. Don and Judy began their married life together in Pennsylvania before moving to Lake George, NY, and more recently to South Kingstown, RI. He loved to build things, like robots, as well as collecting and restoring pinball machines and classic jukeboxes—which made our home feel like every day was a combination of Christmas and a 50's diner. He taught his three daughters to appreciate laughter, hard work and independence. He was a natural storyteller and no doubt one of his favorites was that he won his soon-to-be-wife over on a road trip—steering a sports car with his knees while simultaneously playing the harmonica and guitar. Another he would tell to anyone who would listen was about a friendly "Uncle Searfoss" who lived in our basement and a fictional creature who had a head of a lion on one end and the head of a bear on the other. Early in his career, he taught high school science, then transitioned to working as a businessman in the food service industry before eventually owning an RV dealership. He loved a good joke, and had a distinctive and infectious laugh, but loved his family more than anything and enjoyed sharing all sorts of wisdom with his grandkids such as the “fact” that he was older than dirt (this was always his self-reported age, even when young), or that vegetables put hair on your chest. His neighbors will miss him driving his ATV in cold weather wearing t-shirts with zipped off arm gaiters and wearing his turkey hat with the dancing legs around the neighborhood on Thanksgiving. Most importantly, he is survived by a family who are grateful for the time they got to spend with him. So kind, funny, creative, brilliant, and inspired. There will never be another man like you, Dad, and we are so lucky that we get to have you in our hearts for as long as we live.