Donald Rauch celebrated 100 years of a wonderful life on Sept. 11 this year

ATASCADERO — Local Atascadero resident Donald Rauch celebrated his 100th birthday on Sept. 11 of this year. Rauch, the father of 2022 Colony Days Grand Marshal Ann Little, became a resident at Ingleside Assisted Living in June when she moved him here from the Bay Area. Between Little, Ingleside, and Atascadero Veterans of Foreign War (VFW) Post 2814, Rauch’s birthday was rung in with the fanfare it deserved.

“He was born Sept. 11, 1924. Knowing my dad was new to Ingleside and the community and it was just really me and my girls, they [Ingleside] said, ‘You know, VFW sometimes will present a certificate or something in honor of a veteran on a special occasion. You might call them,'” said Little.

So, Little reached out to the Atascadero branch of the VFW and connected with Quartermaster Chris Rohrberg. He told her that he’d be able to put something together for her dad. Rohrberg told Atascadero News he submitted Ann’s request to a couple of the local veteran groups.

“We had not just the Veterans of Foreign Wars, we had the American Legion, American Legion Riders, we had some of the Welcome Home Hero guys here, we had the Honor Flight people,” Rohrberg added of all the veterans who showed up to celebrate Rauch.

When Little, her daughters Jennifer and Stephanie, and her brother and his wife from Sacramento arrived at Ingelside at 10 a.m. on Sept. 11, she was expecting a representative to show up with a certificate and after the family said thank you, they would be on their way. What ended up happening to celebrate Rauch, his birthday, and his service to our country was something entirely different.

“So, I’m going thinking I’m meeting one person,” Little said. “As we approach the center I see a few cars and people out at a distance and think, ‘Oh, they must be doing some road construction.’ As I get closer I see an entire line of motorcycles, trucks, cars, American flags, honor parade on the side of the car. There must have been at least 30 vehicles, men a women, standing by waiting for us to arrive and they’re already in procession.” 

Rauch served in the Navy during World War II for three years and was an airplane machinist in Brazil. He went to USC after getting out of the service on the G.I. Bill.

“I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, this is for my dad.’ And I started getting teary,” Little added of the special day. 

The parade for Rauch started with a motorcycle caravan and Little added that everyone who drove by was waving American flags and honking their horns in celebration. Ingleside had also brought all their other residents out to celebrate, too.

“My dad was in a wheelchair, wearing his father’s American Legion hat,” Little said. “He (Rauch’s dad) fought in World War I. My dad is 100 and he’s wearing his dad’s American Legion hat.”

After the parade was over, half of the convoy parked to present Rauch with multiple certificates for his service and two medals.

“Each person individually came up to thank him and to shake his hand,” added Little. “I think the respect, the honor, the depth of gratitude and sincerity in greeting a fellow veteran is what struck me. I had no idea that there was this sense of camaraderie and brotherhood that was so universal.”

Little also added that even though her dad was in the Navy she didn’t grow up in a military household, so she was blown away by how the local veterans showed up for her dad.

“We’re pretty fortunate up in what they consider the North County of San Luis Obispo. We have a pretty strong pro-veteran population. A lot of times when we do these welcome home heroes or the celebrations for people that are reaching milestone birthdays, we always have a pretty good turnout,” added Rohrberg. “Obviously, we have a certain commonality between the groups, so we’re always enthused, especially to celebrate something as big as a 100th birthday.”

The party didn’t stop once the parade was over, either. Ingleside Director Nikole Daugherty and House Manager Janet Johnson teamed up to make Rauch’s birthday special too. The center was decked to the nines with everything themed around Rauch turning 100.

“It was fabulous. We love Don and he enjoyed it so much. I mean, he was so happy and the family enjoyed it. I mean, he was just thrilled. He cried he was so happy,” added Johnson. “It meant a lot to everybody. We don’t have a lot of people that turn 100 and it was just Don. He’s such a kind, gracious man and he enjoyed everything and for us, it just felt so good to see him so happy.”

Happy Happy belated 100th birthday, Donald, and thank you for your service.

Featured Image: (From left) Granddaughter Jennifer Little Pierce, Donald’s son Bruce Rauch, granddaughter Stephanie Little, Donald’s son’s wife Janet Rauch, Donald’s daughter Ann Little join Donald Rauch (sitting) at his 100th birthday party. Contributed Photo.