David Paul Thomas Rethoret, Esq., bon vivant, devil-may-care, man about town!

Dave was born in Detroit, MI, April 12, 1933, and was adopted by George and Madeline Rethoret. The family moved to Oregon in 1946 and he graduated from McKenzie High School in a close-knit graduating class of just 13 people. He came to Naval Training Center in San Diego in 1952, and married his wife Jane in 1955. In 1961, they bought a house in Poway where they raised their six children. He graduated from San Diego State University in 1968 with degrees in three fields: biology, psychology, and chemistry. He was immediately snapped up by Teledyne Ryan and General Dynamics, where he worked as a chemist and materials engineer from 1968 to his retirement in 1999, occasionally moonlighting as a dental technician. In 1988, Dave married Peggy Graham; with her encouragement he took up cycling and they traveled the Oregon coast, New Zealand, Ireland, and Italy by bike. Their shared love of the environment grew as they embraced new technologies to preserve the planet, from solar panels to a green burial. He was extremely active in San Diego community theatre, working with all the organizations in Associated Community Theatres (and winning numerous Aubrey awards) as an actor, director, propmaker, set builder, producer, board member, and jack of all trades. He acted at the Old Globe, Cygnet, San Diego Jewish Community Theatre, Fiesta Dinner theatre in Casa de Oro, and the Marquis Theatre. He even played clarinet in a show band once when he wasn't cast in the musical. The last play he directed was The Foreigner at OnStage Playhouse in 2006.  Other talents include: horsemanship, cycling, backpacking, painting, tile mosaic-making, photography, golfing, chemical special effects, unusual  oodworking, dialects, and singing lustily in his baritone voice. He sang with SPEBQSA (Society for Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America) and was supportive of local choirs. As he got older, he became very skilled at Photoshop and made charming commemorative photo collages for local plays, as well as crew shots and collages for the fire and police departments in San Diego and La Mesa. He performed as a heart attack victim for fire department EMT training so many times that we assumed he was immortal.

He and Peggy bought a condo on a golf course in Hawaii in 1990 to escape the stress of being active in so many rewarding hobbies. He suffered a stroke in 2014, and spent the next four years at home, regaining his strength. He spent his last few weeks at Stellar Care where he passed away peacefully on September 17, 2018. He maintained his wicked sense of humor and beautiful smile until the very end. He is survived by his wife, Peggy, and children Dave Jr., Lori (Jones), Mark, Rick, Nina (Nash), and Bill, and so many grandchildren and great grandchildren we lost count; he also leaves behind a large community of artists who loved him. He always said that a big family means you are either a good Catholic or a careless Protestant, and Dave was both.

Gravesite services for Dave will be held Friday, September 28, at 1:00 pm at Dearborn Memorial Park, 14361 Tierra Bonita Road in Poway. In lieu of flowers, donations to KPBS would be an apt legacy for this garrulous and community-minded man.