Rodney Bartsch – A man who’s lived four lives

What's Next? With Steve Blasen

Avid bicycler, athlete, teacher, Naval Officer, Father, Traveler. Rodney was the oldest of five on a dairy farm in rural Mayville, Wisconsin. Rodney went to college, left, and joined the Navy at the age of 20, then went back to college to obtain his teaching degree, and taught kindergarten for a few years but wanderlust took hold, and he went back to the Navy! His first enlistment was spent on Diesel electrical submarines and Rodney waited for the opportunity to reenlist and go back to his first submarine base. From Submarines, Amphibious ships, Frigates and Aircraft Carriers, officer school, Oil rig, Vietnam War, and eventually achieving Lieutenant Commander/Division Officer. He spent about 18 years in active duty spending the latter part of his time teaching the Naval school in Monterey, then retiring. Drifting around unsure of what to do, doing different jobs after retirement, from selling shoes to becoming a counselor for disabled persons, to spending 20 years working with developmentally disabled finding, training, and creating jobs for them. Nowadays he bikes about 3 days a week and cares for his granddaughter.

I hope you enjoy this podcast! This podcast was originally recorded January 11, 2022.