Have you ever wondered where the birds, bees, and other prairie pollinators like to hang…
Alliance Loses a Good Friend: Dave Tremble
This week, the Alliance lost a dear friend and colleague, David “Dave” Tremble (January 19, 1951 – January 13, 2020). Dave was a pivotal figure in helping craft a “green vision” for the former Badger Army Ammunition Plant, first in his capacity as county planner for Sauk County (2000-2009), then as a board member and president of the Alliance (2010-2015). Dave was smart, tough and tactical when it came to the complicated landscape of Badger. He was widely respected for his calm but directed approach to solving issues as they arose around the Badger decommissioning and transformation process.
Here is a link to an unpublished interview with Dave about Badger.
In lieu of gifts, the family has requested friends and colleagues make contributions in Dave’s memory to the Sauk Prairie Conservation Alliance and to give blood whenever they can. Donations can be made online (click here) or by sending checks to: SPCA, PO Box 403, Baraboo WI 53913. All gifts will be acknowledged and the family will be informed of memorial gifts.
(L) Dave admires “Susie Award” presented to the Alliance from Friends of Scenic Lodi Valley
(R) Dave and friend Gail Lambery ham it up at Eagle Days
From Dave’s obituary:
David Nevin Tremble, of Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin, passed away on January 13, 2020, at Agrace Hospice Care, following a spirited battle with acute myeloid leukemia. Dave was born in Kansas City, Missouri on January 19, 1951 to the late Sidney B. Tremble and Rosemary (Nevin) Tremble. He is survived by his spouse, partner and best friend of 34 years, Lynn M. Breunig, of Prairie du Sac, and three daughters, Sarah Tremble Shumaker, (partner Chris Diamond) of Iowa City, Iowa, Katherine Tremble, of Oak Park, Illinois, and Lissa Koop (Paul Asper), of Madison. He is survived as well by his beloved sisters, Barbara Molinaro, of Kansas City, Missouri, and Nancy Mitcham, of Little Rock, Arkansas. Dave’s life was supremely blessed with five grandchildren, Gage and Coleman Shumaker, of Iowa City, Avaa Ruffer, of Oak Park, and Linden and Rowan Asper, of Madison. Dave is also survived by special nieces, nephews, brothers-in-law and a sister-in-law.
Dave grew up in Kansas City, graduating from Rockhurst High School in 1969. He earned a BS in Industrial Education from the University of Northern Iowa in 1976, after which, he taught at Starmont Community Schools in Strawberry Point. In 1985, Dave took a job at the UW-Madison, Dept. of Planning and Construction, where he served as a draftsman and construction project representative from 1985 until 2000. It was there that he met his shining star, Lynn.
Dave earned a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning at UW-Madison, and was hired as a Land Protection Specialist and Planner by Sauk County Dept. of Planning and Zoning in 2000. He was pleased to have contributed to the efforts to permanently protect Sauk County’s Baraboo Hills from unwanted development, and to convert the Badger Ammunition Plant to wildlife conservation and low-impact recreational uses.
Dave was a life-long political activist who spent hours knocking on doors advocating for equal rights and progressive change.
Dave retired in 2009 and spent leisure hours traveling, painting, reading, canoeing, and playing his guitars. He enjoyed many camping trips with Lynn in their Shasta trailer experiencing the joys and horrors of state campgrounds from Wisconsin to Florida. Dave loved every aspect of life, but his greatest joy was spending time with his children, grandchildren, and wife.
Dave was a genuinely kind and humble human being who made a real difference in this world through his work and the way he lived his life. He was a talented artist, musician, and woodworker, a lover of history, and had a keen interest in the natural world. His quiet strength and focus on others are a model for all who loved him.
Dave and his family would like to thank the talented and dedicated doctors and nursing staff of the UW Hospital and Clinics for their care, and most especially his pulmonary team, Dr. Nizar Jarjour, M.D. and Jessica La Mar, D.N.P., who have provided Dave not only with their medical expertise but with their loving kindness and friendship, and his kind and compassionate hematologist, Dr. Ryan Mattison, M.D. Dave and his family would also like to thank the staff at Agrace Hospice Care in Fitchburg, who took such good care of Dave in his final days.
An informal Celebration of Dave’s Life will be held on June 7, 2020, from 2:00 pm until 4:00 p.m at Freethinkers’ Hall, 422 Polk Street, Sauk City.
