USS Rankin

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Donald Paul Trepte

Born 5/23/33. Died 11/12/2006.

Don Trepte was an Ensign and Lieutenant (j.g.) aboard the Rankin from 1955-1958. His primary duty was as CIC Officer.

Here is his obituary from the Cape Cod Times:

Donald Trepte, 73, chairman of the Dennis, Massachusetts Board of Selectmen, died early yesterday morning at his home.

A selectman since 2002, Trepte was characterized by friends and colleagues as a man who worked very hard but always managed to maintain a sense of humor.

"If someone had a question, he'd do whatever he could to get that question answered," said Dennis Selectman Charles Crowell.

"He also went out of his way to make sure that anyone who wanted to speak at a meeting got that opportunity," Crowell said. "I'll miss him terribly."

Trepte's death has shocked those who knew him. A vibrant, active man, he and his wife, Barbara "Bobbi" Trepte, were planning to drive to Texas this week to spend Thanksgiving with their daughters.

Just hours before his death, Trepte and his wife had entertained guests at a dinner party in their home, said a family friend.

James Plath, chairman of the Dennis Finance Committee, had lunch with Trepte on Friday and said his friend was excited about an upcoming trip to visit his two daughters and grandchildren in Texas.

"He loved to drive and he would always drive out there," Plath said.

Trepte was a good, honest, hard-working man, Plath said.

Everybody who came to Trepte with a problem or a question was treated with dignity and respect, Plath said.

As colleagues first on the finance committee and then as the chairmen of the selectmen and finance committees, the two men worked closely together for many years, speaking on the phone at least three or four times a week, Plath said.

"Whenever I hung the phone up with Don I was always calm," he said. "More than anything I'll miss him as a friend."

In the past year Trepte was instrumental in efforts to resolve the Dennis-Yarmouth Regional School District funding quagmire. His tireless work made compromise between the two towns possible, members of the Yarmouth Board of Selectmen said yesterday.

"Even when there was a disagreement he was always a professional," Yarmouth Selectman Jerry Sullivan said.

Sullivan's view of Trepte as a nice guy who was dedicated to his work is shared by many.

"I'm just blown away that a man of his quality has left us," said Yarmouth Selectman James Saben, chairman of the board.

Trepte knew the value of community and that town borders didn't always define that community, Saben said.

"He always reached across that river, and he didn't let it bother him that there was a border," he said.

Saben said that working with his Dennis counterpart on the school issue was one of the highlights of his three years as a selectman.

"He would always be there to try to help you to understand an issue," Saben said. "It's a sad day for both Dennis and Yarmouth and he will be greatly missed."

Trepte was born in Casper, Wyo., but spent most of his childhood in a suburb of Chicago before heading east to Brown University in Providence, R.I., where he met his wife. They were married in 1955.

Trepte earned a bachelor's degree in English literature from Brown and served in the Navy from 1955 to 1958 aboard the USS Rankin. After leaving the service, he went into advertising and marketing, working in both New York and Los Angeles.

His career included 10 years in California as senior vice president of the William Esty Advertising company. From 1987 to 1995, Trepte worked for the New England Jeep and Eagle Dealers Advertising Association out of an office on Route 134 in Dennis. He retired in 1995.

Although he enjoyed retirement - particularly golf, clamming and fishing for stripers in his Boston whaler - Trepte was known as someone who "practically worked full time being chairman of the selectman," said Crowell.

His public service career in Dennis began in 1998 when he volunteered for the town finance committee, serving as vice chairman and liaison to the Dennis-Yarmouth Regional School Committee.

(Published: November 13, 2006)