Obituary of Rich Rabanus

Richard (Rich) Carl Rabanus, age 77, of Mendota Heights, passed away on March 26th, 2023.

Rich was preceded in death by his parents, Carl and Alma Rabanus and his sister Pearl McCloskey. He is survived by his wife of 50 years Karla, son Matthew (Bhakti), son Ian and daughter Christine (Jeff), brother Herman (Rhoda) and nine grandchildren (Mackenzie, Victory, Richy, Peyton, Landon, Aliysha(Brock), Anika, Anushka and Jay).

Rich was born on March 10, 1946 in West Fargo. He was the youngest of three children. He attended West Fargo High School and went onto Moorhead State University graduating with a degree in Industrial Arts. In 1972, he married Karla Hamnes and moved to Mendota Heights, where they raised their family.

In 1968, Rich began his career at Rosemount High School, where he started the Vehicle Services Program. Rich took great pride in his profession. Over the decades, he was able to teach his automotive skills and life lessons, which he shared with thousands of students. For many years he entered into the Plymouth TroubleShooting Contest where his students won the national competition on three different occasions. Upon his retirement, Rich’s educational success at Rosemount High School was handed off to his son, Ian.

After 34 years of “moulding minds”, Rich declared the “educational dipstick to be full” and retired at the age of 55 from RHS. He then purchased Classic Auto Storage and ran it with his other son, Matt. Rich spearheaded the renovation of his 72,000 sq foot building, and then turned his attention to building hot rods at Rich’s Hot Rod Shop. For 22 years Rich built a unique car collection,

Rich was also a member of Minnesota Street Rod Association (MSRA), Twin Cities Roadsters Club, The Amblers Car Club, and St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church.

Rich was generous, supportive and loving. He will be deeply missed by all who knew him. We will love him forever.

Visitation and Service will be held Tuesday, April 4th at St Stephens Lutheran Church, 1575 Charlton St, St Paul, MN 55118 from 10:00-11:00 visitation 11:00-12:00 service. Service will also be live streamed at https://www.facebook.com/sslcwsp/live/. The livestream should appear on Facebook 5 minutes prior to the time of service. Burial – Acacia Cemetery – Family only.