David James Rothwell, 88, a Boston, Massachusetts native, passed away peacefully on November 14, 2019 in Carol Stream, IL surrounded by family. David will be forever remembered by four adult children, Jennifer (Bradley) Werrell, Mercedes (Jeff Goodman, predeceased) Rothwell, Rebecca (Dave) Heidenreich, Andrew Rothwell, plus nine grandchildren (Sara, Philip, Zoe, Elizabeth, Harrison, Kenneth, Steven, Dylan, and Hannah), and his sister, Anne (Jim) Whelan. He is predeceased by his wife, Mary Ellen in October of this year, and siblings John Francis Finn, Richard, Thomas, Albert, Robert, William, Mary Elizabeth Conlon, Marguerite Tucker, Jeanne Mullin, James, Joseph, and Helen Carey.

A Memorial Service is scheduled for Saturday December 28th, 2019 at the Milwaukee Art Museum, Café Calatrava , 700 North Art Museum Drive, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Gathering for friends and family begins at 10:30 a.m. with service following at 11:30 a.m. Reception to follow. Free parking is available in the Museum's underground garage (get ticket validated at the service).

David was born in Stoneham, Massachusetts on May 25, 1931, the twelfth of fourteen children, to Richard and Anne (née Kelly) Rothwell, an Irish Catholic family. His mother died when he was four, after which he spent what he called a "formative time" in foster care with his brother Joe and four other boys at Mrs. White's strict Catholic home on Mountain Ave. During that time, he remembers picking apples and wild blueberries for income. Eventually, he moved back into his family home at the age of 12. For a few summers, he worked as a golf caddy, sparking a life-long love of the sport.

David attended Boston Latin School and Hyde Park High School. Afterwards, he left Boston to live with his older brother, Tom, in Ann Arbor. Since he was undecided regarding his future goals, in 1951 David chose to enlist in the US Air Force where he served four years, including time in Korea. While serving and observing the medics, he decided his career goal was to become a doctor. With the help of the GI Bill, David went back to Ann Arbor and graduated with a B.S. in Chemistry in 1957. In 1961, he finished a Medical Doctor degree at Wayne State University Medical School. Beyond medicine, he was an avid student of a variety of subjects. One example he often spoke of through life was his fond memory of a class on Shakespeare he took during his senior year of college.

While pursuing his initial residency in Surgery at Ohio State University, David found himself frequently seeking out the pathologist's broad body of knowledge. Thus, after a year and a half, he decided to switch residencies from Surgery to Pathology, much to the chagrin of the chief surgeon. David completed his Pathology residency at the University of Minnesota in 1967. He ultimately became board certified in Anatomic Pathology, Clinical Pathology, and Hematopathology.

While a resident at Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio, David met the love of his life and future wife of 56 years, Mary Ellen Erskine. They were married on November 24th, 1962. After a few moves, David and Mary settled into Brookfield, Wisconsin, in 1970 where they lived in the same house for 45 years.

David practiced Pathology at Pontiac General Hospital in Pontiac, Michigan, at St. John's Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota, and in Milwaukee at both the Milwaukee County Hospital and Columbia Hospital. He remained at Columbia Hospital for twenty years, becoming the Department Head of Pathology before his retirement in 1995. He also enjoyed teaching as a clinical professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He was fascinated with medicine and relished explaining various disease processes to anyone who was interested.

Apart from his work as a pathologist, David spent several years working with an international team to systematize medical nomenclature, first of pathology (SNOP) then medicine (SNOMED). For this effort he received recognition from the College of American Pathologists. After retiring from the hospital, he continued to work on a different version of this medical language. SNOMED is now part of SNOMED CT and is considered to be "the most comprehensive, multilingual clinical healthcare terminology in the world" which "provides the core general terminology for the electronic health record" (per Wikipedia).

Pastimes for David included golf, biking, walking, swimming in Lake Michigan, sailing, tennis, listening to classical music by artists including Glenn Gould, and reading during all stages of his life. Starting in the late 1970s and continuing annually for seven years, David joined a large group sponsored by the Milwaukee newspaper which biked across Wisconsin, along with his children. David and Mary also loved spending time with family and friends at their cabin in Door County, Wisconsin. Later in life, he especially enjoyed golf, seeking out courses with natural beauty, and eagerly trying to introduce a love of the game to his grandchildren (with a few successes). Reading materials continuously changed with his interests, including Science magazine, JAMA, Christopher Hitchens, Joseph Campbell, Karen Armstrong, Charles Bukowski's "The Ascent of Man", the Sunday New York Times as well as inspiring biographies suggested by Mary Ellen. He loved the Green Bay Packers, the Milwaukee Brewers (when available on local broadcast since they didn't have cable), fresh seafood, and Gilles frozen custard with blueberries on top.

Dave could be tough like a sea captain – physically and mentally. He was responsible, strong, determined, disciplined, reliable, and no nonsense. If something needed to be done, there was no hesitation—he did it. His 'modus operandi' in life was to look forward and not dwell on the past. He was the IQ and Mom was the EQ of our family. Of course, he had a soft side too. We knew he loved us all dearly. He is greatly missed.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make a donations to Feed My Starving Children https://www.fmsc.org or the NYT Neediest Cases Fund or www.nytimes.com/2019/10/17/neediest-cases/about-donate.html .