Goodwill chairman active in Sandusky vets' groups

12/2/2006

SANDUSKY - Thomas L. Rotsinger, 75, a former chairman of the board of Sandusky Goodwill Industries who was a Navy veteran of the Korean War, died Tuesday in Firelands Regional Medical Center here. The family did not know the cause of death.

Mr. Rotsinger was the board chairman at Sandusky Goodwill Industries for four years in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He retired in 1993 as a supervisor from the Industrial Nut Corp., a machine products manufacturing company here, after 44 years with the company.

During the Korean War, Mr. Rotsinger was engineman 2nd class aboard a tank landing ship, in Korea from 1950, when he was drafted, until July of 1953, when the war ended. He was honorably discharged in 1954.

"He was passionate about Sandusky. He saw it grow and he was a walking encyclopedia of the city. [And] he was very dedicated to the AMVETS," his daughter, Shari Mortensen, said.

"He was an exceptional family man. He would do anything and everything for us," she said.

A native of Sandusky, Mr. Rotsinger graduated in 1950 from Sandusky High School. In his senior year, he started to work for the Industrial Nut Corp.

Mr. Rotsinger was a longtime member of VFW Post 2529 and AMVETS Post 17, both in Sandusky.

At the AMVETS post, he was a two-time past commander and most recently first vice commander. He was also instrumental in establishing a scholarship program for it four years ago.

His other local memberships included Perseverance Lodge, F&AM, Zenobia Temple, American Legion Post 83, Eagles Club 444, and Ducks Unlimited.

In his free time, Mr. Rotsinger enjoyed being with the family, collecting coins, duck hunting, and bowling. He was a fan of the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Cleveland Browns.

Surviving are his wife of 33 years, V. Faye "Bubba" Rotsinger; daughter, Shari Mortensen; son, Donald Peace; sister, Nancy Groves; brother, Don Rotsinger; three grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

Services will be at 10 a.m. today at the Groff Funeral Home, Sandusky.

The family suggests tributes to the AMVETS Post 17 Baseball Fence Project.