Robert “Bob” Breitenbach, a longtime funeral director, was remembered for his love of family and his lifetime of service to the community. He died Aug. 26. He was 70.
Breitenbach owned Breitenbach-McCoy-Leffler Funeral Home in Middletown since 1977 and was in the funeral home for 50 years.
His daughter Jennifer Cole Breitenbach said. “He made me into the woman, wife and mother I am today. He pushed me towards excellence in all areas of my life. He always knew just when to give me the confidence and reassurance that was needed to handle any situation. I thank him for being a living example of how to truly sacrifice and put others’ needs before my own.”
Monica Wagner, another daughter, added: “He inspired me to believe in myself, to dream and to go beyond my own expectations. He was a prime example of generosity, humility, kindness, intelligence, and thoughtfulness — not to mention his humor, zest for life, sense of adventure, and ability to always put others first. I am so very grateful for him accepting me and loving me unconditionally.”
Breitenbach joined the Middletown Rotary Club in 1978, and was a founding donor when the Middletown Community Foundation was established in 1986.
Breitenbach was also a sponsor for the Crystal Apple Awards, which recognizes the area’s top teachers.
Dr. Richard Burkhardt III
Dr. Richard Burkhardt III, who served as Butler County coroner for 32 years, died Sept. 7. He was 75.
He was born in Dayton and graduated from the University of Dayton in 1960 with a bachelor’s degree and in 1964 from the University of Cincinnati with a medical doctorate degree.
He interned at Cincinnati General Hospital and served as captain in the U.S. Air Force from 1965-67. The next year, he and his partner, Dr. Richard Zettler, established the Linden Medical Group, where he practiced medicine for 25 years.
In 1980, Burkhardt was elected to serve as the county’s coroner. In 2003, he established the first self-contained autopsy facility in Butler County. He investigated more than 10,000 deaths that included 366 homicides, 1,015 car accidents and 1,608 other accidents.
Pete Conrad
Pete Conrad, editor of The Oxford Press and longtime Miami University sports reporter, died March 4 at University Hospital in Cincinnati. He was 56.
He was a life-long resident of Reily Twp. He graduated from Talawanda High School in 1974 and Miami University in 1978.
Mike O’Connor, a Pulse-Journal consulting editor when Conrad started working there, said he was a peaceful guy in spite of his large presence.
“I can’t say that I ever saw him angry about anything,” O’Connor said. “I don’t think I’d want to see him angry. He was an effortless writer. He was never a show-off, never a hot dog. His work was as unassuming as he was.”
After leaving The Pulse Journal for the Hamilton JournalNews, Conrad covered Miami University sports for 29 years.
“Whenever Miami was looking for a new head coach, Pete was the one reporter who would never pressure me about clandestine meetings or inside information,” said Jo Anne Bogard, long-time administrative assistant to the athletic director. “He was always so caring, laid-back and low key and a delight to be around.”
Mike Davis
Mike Davis, a longtime Middletown police officer who served as school resource officer, died Nov. 13. He was 65.
He served as director of the city’s Safety Town program and a school resource officer for 26 of his 44-year career with the Middletown Division of Police. After retiring from the police department in January 2011, Davis battled numerous serious illnesses, from heart disease to prostate cancer.
Maj. Rodney Muterspaw, who worked with Davis in the DARE program in the mid-1990s, called his death “a tremendous loss” for the city because he went above and beyond the work of a police officer. Even when he wasn’t wearing his uniform, he was Officer Davis. He visited troubled kids at home, and counseled them whenever — and wherever — it was needed, Muterspaw said.
“He was just so passionate,” Muterspaw said.
Davis dedicated much of his career to school bus safety because of the tragic events of Sept. 14, 1989. That was the day Christina Cross, a second-grader, was run over and killed by a Middletown school bus. He called it the “worst day” of his career and his life. So Davis implemented a school bus safety assembly at every Middletown school, served as school resource officer and ran the Safety Town program for students entering kindergarten every summer.
Greg Schwarber was Middletown’s police chief when Davis retired in 2011. He said Davis influenced the lives of thousands of children in the district.
“He left a legacy that few of us can lay claim to,” Schwarber said. “He left his mark on this community. The Middletown community has lost an icon.”
Clare Easton
Clare Easton, who started the Artists and Lecture Series at Miami University Middletown, died Aug. 22 in Springfield. She was 90.
Easton developed the program while she was director of continuing education and coordinated the program for 20 years. She arrived at MUM in the mid-1960s and was hired by C. Eugene Bennett, the campus’ first executive director.
Easton, who later became the campus’ assistant executive director, brought in many national and internationally known artists, actors and actresses such as Mercedes McCambridge, Leonard Nimoy, Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Herman and many international dance ensembles.
Virginia Ritan, executive director of Middfest, said Easton worked with the annual event from about 1981 until she moved from Middletown. She said Easton, a native of Trinidad, was instrumental in 1992 when Middfest celebrated the Caribbean.
“She was always available to go to the various embassies with me to promote Middfest,” Ritan said. “I think Clare made a significant contribution to the arts and education throughout the city. She was a patron of the arts and was a role model for all of us. She was a good friend.”
Bob Huff
Bob Huff, a drummer in the popular band 90 Proof Twang, died Aug. 27 in his home near Cincinnati. He was 49.
Band mates Dave Cornett and Josh Brock remembered Huff as always smiling, loving his music and a friendly man who never forgot a name.
“Bob was friends with everybody. During breaks, he would go around to everyone in the room and thank them for coming,” Cornett said. “Months later, he’d see them again and remember their names.”
Cornett and Huff and played together in several bands including the Ryan Broshear Band prior to the formation of 90 Proof Twang.
The band formed in April of 2011 with Huff on drums, Cornett on lead guitar and backing vocals, Brock on guitar and lead vocals and Mark “Beef” Bishop on bass and vocals.
Frank Pickett
Frank Pickett, a Hamilton fixture and local artist, died of a heart attack on Aug. 7 at Wellington Manor. He was 61.
Over the decades, the artist with mental disabilities sold or gave his drawings of cartoon characters to anyone interested. In July, Miami Hamilton Downtown featured a collection of Prickett’s works — along with those of other artists from InsideOut Studio — at the Butler County Board of Developmental Disabilities’ Liberty Center.
“Frankie didn’t have a lot of advantages in life, and he took a marker and drawing tablet and made a name for himself,” said Ryan Black, of Hamilton.
Black described Prickett as a “simple man with a good heart.”
“A little bit like Forrest Gump,” Black said of the movie character played by Tom Hanks. “He told me about his mom and life; he was such a genuine person.”
Rhonda Brown, marketing representative at InsideOut Studio, said Prickett had attended a day program for the last three years, creating art there and allowing the center to market and sell it for him at a better rate than what he was getting on his own.
James ‘Choppy’ Saunders
James “Choppy” Saunders, Middletown’s first black mayor and city commissioner, died April 22 at his home in Port Charlotte, Fla. He was 94.
He was remembered as a quiet man whose actions spoke loudly for Middletown, leading the city through times of racial strife and transition in the 1960s and 70s.
His widow and wife of 18 years, Esther Saunders, said he husband “loved” Middletown.
He was “a household name” among African Americans and “an inspiration to the community,” said Dora Bronston, president of the Middletown NAACP.
Saunders, who was born in Middletown on Jan. 7, 1919, became the first black man elected to Middletown City Commission (as it was known then) in 1970 and served 16 years on the board. He was the city’s first black commission chairman (or mayor as it is today), a position he held from 1982-86.
He worked for Armco Steel for 42 years, retiring in 1985 as corporate supervisor of government and community affairs. He was the first black foreman at the Middletown mill.
The Rev. Michael Bailey, pastor of Faith United Church and a former union president at AK Steel, said Saunders always had “a heart for the community” and “words of wisdom” for him.
“He was a quiet man and he was a servant leader,” Bailey said. “He was our role model and we stand on his shoulders.”
David Tacosik
David Tacosik, a former West Chester Twp. trustee, died Sept. 30. He was 66.
Tacosik retired from Lakota School District after 35 years and was very involved in the West Chester Twp. community, including serving as a trustee for four years.
Russell S. Weatherwax Jr.
Weatherwax Jr., a longtime executive of Barnitz Bank in Middletown, died on April 6 at his Columbus home. He was 88.
He followed his father, Russell Weatherwax Sr. who served as the fifth president of Barnitz Bank and the two had 77 years of leadership with the bank.
He served in the U.S. Navy Seabees during World War II in the South Pacific from 1943 to 1946. He worked as treasurer for Denny Lumber Co. from 1949-55, before joining the bank.
He was a member of First United Methodist Church, the executive member committee and board of trustees of United Way, treasurer of Salvation Army, treasurer and vice president of Middletown Regional Hospital. In 1978, he received the American Legion Martin V. Coffey Award for Outstanding Community Service.
He received the honor of being Middletown Boss of the Year for 1984, and the Stuart Ives YMCA Service to youth award.
His family was instrumental in the development of Weatherwax Golf Course in Madison Twp.
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