Ernest Rauch

Ernest Rauch

Ernest Cody Rauch not only enjoyed life, he made others enjoy it, too. Known as Dr. Ernie Fever to the thousands he entertained for close to three decades, he was equally adept at exciting young children as he was at energizing adults while spinning records and CDs for his company, Cruisin' Tunes.

Mr. Rauch died at University Hospital in Ann Arbor Tuesday, February 12, 2008, after a long illness. He was 64.

In earlier years, he designed highways and inspected bridges for the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), and he and his family moved to Hessel in 1977, where he continued work on state highways for the agency in the Eastern Upper Peninsula.

He was born December 18, 1943, in Flint to Charles Edward and Emily Ida (nee Cody) Rauch and attended Flint Public Schools, where his great uncle had been superintendent in the 1930s.

He was graduated from Brown City High School in 1962, where met Marjorie Paschke, and the two were married at United Methodist Church in Brown City October 17, 1964, on Sweetest Day.

Mr. Rauch was working for General Motors in 1967 when their first daughter, Heidi, was born. Later, he took a job with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), where he worked up through the ranks until he retired in the late 1990s. During his career with MDOT, he fathered a second daughter, Melissa, in 1970, and a son, Marc, in 1972.

He was involved in a highway project called "The Mixing Bowl," which included construction of I-96, I-696, and I-275, when he transferred to the Eastern Upper Peninsula and moved into a home on Mackinac Bay near Hessel.

"We are so fortunate to live here," he said as he looked across the bay from his home one day in 2006.

In 1979 or 1980, Mr. Rauch founded and served as the first president of the Parent Teacher Organization at Les Cheneaux Community Schools. As a fundraiser, he organized a record hop featuring music from the 1950s and 1960s and its success led to the creation in 1981 of the disc jockey entertainment company, Cruisin' Tunes.

At its height, with the help of his wife, son, and apprentices, the business would play at as many as seven events a week. During these lively shows, Dr. Ernie Fever enticed audience participation with Hula Hoops, games, and fun dances, including the Chicken Dance, which became a signature of his. He taught it to elderly celebrants at weddings and to elementary students at school and, at his funeral last Saturday, his family led one last rendition.

Cruisin' Tunes provided music at dances, weddings, graduation ceremonies, family reunions, and business parties and Mr. Rauch would donate his entertainment to projects like the St. Ignace cancer fundraiser, Relay for Life, and school-related projects like Les Cheneaux Read-A-Thon. He played for years at the Cedarville Fourth of July celebrations and at the St. Ignace Antique Auto Show.

"He had an uncanny ability to get people involved," said Travis Miller of Pickford, who worked with Cruisin' Tunes for about eight years. "It was almost like his life's mission was to get people to smile."

"He was larger than life," noted his first cousin, Carol Irene Gibelyou, who Mr. Rauch referred to as the sister he had never had.

Another relative was also drawn to center stage. Mr. Rauch's fifth cousin, William F. Cody, performed in his "Wild West Show" as Buffalo Bill in the 1870s.

In addition to his wife and three children, Mr. Rauch is survived by a brother, Victor, two grandchildren, Parker Cody Lanning and Madelyn Caroline Rauch- O'Toole, and many other relatives.

He was preceded in death by his parents, a brother, Edward, and a sister-in-law, Robin Rauch.

Visitation was held from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, February 15, at Reamer Galer Funeral Home in Pickford. Services were conducted by Pastor Jeff Meyers at 1 p.m. Saturday, February 16, at First Union Church of Cedarville.

Memorials may be directed to the Ernest Cody Rauch Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 85, Cedarville, Michigan 49719.