Donald Dreisbach

Don was born June 25, 1941 in Allentown, Pennsylvania, the son of Clarence and Margaret Dreisbach. He attended the public schools of Allentown and enrolled in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he initially planned to study physics but switched fields after developing an interest in philosophy that would define the rest of his career. After graduating MIT in 1963, he began his doctoral studies in philosophy at Northwestern University. After two years, he sought a new experience and entered the recently-established Peace Corps, where he served from 1965 to 1967 in Tabriz, Iran, teaching English to local students.

After returning to the U.S., Don finished his graduate work and moved to Marquette to take a position in the NMU philosophy department. The department was small and he thus had to teach a wide variety of subjects. He was also assigned to teach humanities courses, which included material from the departments of English, history, and philosophy. A course on the ancient world included the Hebrew experience, which led to his serious study of scripture.

Don spent much of his time at NMU as the department’s representative to the Academic Senate, which he chaired for a year, and created an interdisciplinary minor in religious studies. He was a key member of the committee that designed the honors program.

He published on a number of philosophic issues, but his career was mainly built around the German-American philosopher and theologian Paul Tillich. He wrote several articles about Tillich and a book, Symbols and Salvation. He was a member of the American Philosophical Association and the American Academy of Religion, and was very active in the North American Paul Tillich Society, of which he was for a year the president.

In Marquette, he met his life partner, Darlene Wedin. They were married May 30, 1981 and had two children, Tristan and Johannes. In their home, Don was constantly surrounded by cats who accompanied him while he worked and read. He enjoyed travelling with his family from the battlefields of Gettysburg, to the rain forests of Costa Rica, to the many cathedrals of Europe.

Outside of academia, he was an avid reader from the age of 10 to the end of his life. He liked history (including biography), especially military history, an odd choice for this most unmilitary man. He also enjoyed detective stories, especially those by Raymond Chandler, Rex Stout, and Robert Parker. In high school he had an amateur radio operator’s license, W3EWI, as had his father before him.

After he purchased a house in Marquette, with a large basement, he built a model railroad. Sadly, failing health compelled him to abandon this hobby. In retirement, he returned to an interest from his childhood, stamp collecting. He enjoyed walking, in woods or in cities. He enjoyed food, both eating and cooking, and spent far too much on kitchen gadgets.

Surviving him are his wife, Darlene; children, Tristan (Lili Cai) Dreisbach of Arlington, Virginia and Johannes (Allyson) Gross-Dreisbach of Madison, Wisconsin; brothers-in-law, Robert (Helen “Bitsy” ) Wedin of Marquette and Richard (Michelle) Wedin of Spurr Township; and nephews, Samuel and Nicholas Wedin of Marquette and Benjamin Wedin of Ann Arbor.

He was preceded in death by his parents, parents-in-law, (Richard and Lily Wedin) and brother-in-law, Donald Wedin.

A funeral will be held at 12 noon on Saturday, March 15, 2025 at Messiah Lutheran Church in Marquette. Visitation will be held at the church from 10:00 am until the time of the service. A luncheon will follow at Fassbender Swanson Hansen Funeral Home and Cremation Services. Interment will take place in Park Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to WNMU FM radio.

Memories of Don may be shared at fassbenderswansonhansen.com.