Michel Rothschild died yesterday after a very short illness. My wife
(his daughter) and I spent two glorious weeks with him during our trip
to the UK and France just this month for the London to Brighton Rally.
He had a premonition and was determined to visit his mother's grave
site in Paris for the last time.
We celebrated his 70th birthday while in Paris -he was truly happy
that night. Unusual for him since he never wanted any hoopla of any
sort any time. He was the most self-motivated and self-directing
individual I have ever met. He was the driver. The late Ken
Richardson told me that he had met many drivers many of them
more talented but not one that was more consistent lap after lap.
He has done many things that would make most people consider each one
a lifetime achievement.
He engineered and built a special oceangoing crane/platform to open
the channel at Grand Turk which the US Army Corps of engineers said
was impossible to do. It was towed to the island by a Tug boat he
bought and specially outfitted for the project. Grand Turks' natural
harbor was closed for a century by a previous Hurricane and now is
open for all as a safe harbor to weather Caribbean storms.
He developed methods of collecting vaporized Zinc from hot furnaces
that set the standard for particulate reclamation a full TEN years
before the EPA thought it was necessary.
He developed methods of heat saturating large brass billets for
extrusions of upto eight inches (one of the largest in the world).
He donated much of the brass that went into the restoration of the
Statue of Liberty.
He raced and won at Le Mans.
He had a Beechcraft Baron that he Island hopped with and ferried
supplies to people when they needed it.
He was a "Quiet Bird".
Good Bye Mike.
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