Werner J. Rothbacher
Werner J. Rothbacher,
83, husband of Betsy (Wyman) Rothbacher, of Beverly Farms, and long time
resident of Brunswick, Maine, died Wednesday February 2, 2011 following
his extended illness.
He was born on
January 21, 1928 in Taxenbach Austria, the eldest son of the late
Leopold and Erna Rothbacher. He grew up in a small mountain village in
the Austrian Alps. Werner was a student at the University of Graz from
1948 – 1952, graduating with a degree in Physical Education and
History. He came to the United States on a Fulbright Scholarship in
1952 and studied at Springfield College, Springfield, MA. He returned
to Austria to teach and continue his education at the University of
Vienna where he studied towards his PhD in 1955.
Werner returned to
the United States in 1956 with the Institute of International Education
“I had left the old Europe with shameful ease and I had very few moments
when I felt sorry for what I had left behind . . . I was looking ahead
into the future with not a trace of fear . . . to face the new
beginning.” He was hired as a ski instructor by Sugarloaf, USA in
1957. He became the Ski School Director at Sugarloaf the following year
and spent ten years developing the Austrian inspired “Wedeln” technique
of skiing at Sugarloaf, teaching skiing and developing ski instructors
to pass along the innovative ski technique. He coached the Colby
College Ski Team while at Sugarloaf. Werner
was a certified US ski instructor, a certified Austrian ski instructor
and a Professional Ski Instructor of America member.
Werner became a high
school teacher in 1966 teaching German and Physical Education in Maine.
He was a teacher at Brunswick High School for twenty years, teaching
German, Physical Education, coaching the Bowdoin College Ski Team and
the Brunswick High School swimming teams. While teaching he continued
his skiing career as the Ski School Director at Lost Valley, Auburn,
Maine for twenty years. Werner spent his summers at the waterfront at
Camp Chewonki, Wiscasset, Maine where he taught swimming. After
retiring from his teaching career, he worked at Bowdoin College in the
Athletic Department. Werner always found inspiration and empowerment
from working with young people and this is why he chose to dedicate his
life to teaching. His other passions included his family, Austria,
fishing and camping in Maine and Popham Beach.
In addition to his
wife of fifty-two years, he is survived by four children, Heidi
Rothbacher Davidson of Eugene, OR, Rainer Wyman Rothbacher of Eugene,
OR, Richard Werner Rothbacher of Bartlett, IL and Liesl Rothbacher
Hawley of Manchester, and his eleven beautiful grandchildren. He is
also survived by his sister, Traudl Straub, and two brothers, Seighart
Rothbacher and Reiner Rothbacher of Zell am See, Austria.
Funeral services
will be private. Arrangements by the Whittier-Porter Funeral Home of
Ipswich. Those who wish may make memorial contributions in his name to
the Brunswick Area Student Aid Fund, c/o J. Otey Smith, Treasurer, 121
Tondreau Point Road, Harpswell, ME 04079, and, or to the Chewonki
Foundation, 485 Chewonki Neck Road, Wiscasset, ME 04578 (www.chewonki.org)
