I have to include a personal note here. My friend from law school passed away suddenly the week ending November 15th. Like me, he was an “older” student at law school, and we were both one of the few still trying to keep up with all the reading by hanging out at the law library on Friday evenings.

Dave’s claim to fame at law school were his 1L contributions to the weekly “WE” law school student newsletter. He “wrote” new lyrics for famous songs that dealt with the legal topics we were learning. Proximate cause, Palsgraf, and Justice Cardozo would all appear together in a song lyric. These newsletters became must-reading material in large part because of Dave’s “song” entries.

Note: I did not save those newsletters. Unfortunately, the archivists at Northeastern report that the newsletters were not saved.

Naturally, Dave was selected as one of our graduation speakers (thanks to Dan Jackson for finding this “doggerel”):

graduation pamphlet for Northeastern School of Law class of 1997 with acknowledgement of speakers Suzanne Garrow and Dave Rothstein

After graduation, Dave went to Alaska to clerk for a justice at that state’s supreme court. While there, Dave picked up a new skill — snow sculpting — that he started to pursue in his free time.

In the meantime, when his clerkship ended he landed a job with the Department of Interior and was there until “early retirement” in the late 20-teens. During his legal work with the Interior Department, he relocated from Boston and joined the artist community in Western Massachusetts. With his “retirement,” he turned to his art on a full-time basis.

I had long since re-located to Wisconsin. But, we stayed in touch and re-connected when he came out this way for snow-sculpting competitions or we connected whatever our circumstances when time allowed.

His team’s 2018 start in Breckinridge CO (Dave is on the right, and three team members are missing from this photo):

Just before the snow sculpting competition starts, with artists standing next to a giant block of ice/snow.

And, the finished sculpture:

Finished snow sculpture of boy and dog hanging on to a light post against the wind.

With the full team (Dave is furthest on the left):

Finished snow sculpture of boy and dog hanging on to a light post against the wind with the artists stranding in front trying to "stay" upright against the wind.

For reasons unknown to me, this entry did not win. A year later was a different story, however (as Dave explained to me, straight lines and edges are more difficult to achieve in snow).

The team with their entry behind them:

A set of very large intertwined triangles carved out of snow with the three artist standing in front with smiles and gesticulations.

Note: here is a pic of just the sculpture.

And, the winning team (Dave is on the right):

Winning snow sculpture team smiling and holding up their awards.

As with everyone, the Covid-19 pandemic shut down travel. So, we did not connect then, and my own workload sky-rocketed. So, we did not see each other as much as we should have.

Of course, Dave was busy with his own artistic and conservation efforts when travel restrictions began to lift. In 2023, Dave paddled the Connecticut River in a pumpkin. And, he was focused on the art community in Western Massachusetts, creating a VW beetle out of hay.

So, when I got the news on November 15th of Dave’s sudden passing a few days earlier I was devastated. Dave’s cupcake artwork in 2016 never felt so apropos as now.

Spock sinking inside a mass of chocolate chips on a donut with Dave lamenting being in a pit of despair over recent political events.

But, Dave never let bad news keep him down. The absurdities of life and even learning were always kept in perspective by him. He had passion for finding beauty and laughter. And, he always had compassion for the rest of us who needed help in these efforts.

Visit Dave’s art when you have the chance to appreciate a soul of laughter and enthusiasm.

Rest in peace my friend.