TOPSHAM – Rudolf “Rolf” Oesterlin, an organic chemist, died March 25, 2022 in Topsham surrounded by his loving family.Born in 1931 in Frankfurt/Main, Germany to Annelise (Goebel) Oesterlin and Hubert Oesterlin, Rolf graduated from the Scheffel Gymnasium in Bad Saeckingen in 1950, studied at the University of Basel in Switzerland, and obtained a B.S. degree in chemistry from the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany in 1955. He immigrated to the United States in 1955 and worked as a control chemist for the California Spray Chemical Corp., now Scotts Miracle-Gro Corp. in Richmond, California. After serving in the US Army, including one year in Korea, he enrolled in the graduate School of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley in 1959. With a NIH Fellowship, Oesterlin contributed to the elucidation of shellfish poison saxitoxin under the direction of Henry Rapoport, an internationally renowned organic chemist, and received his Ph.D. in 1963.Oesterlin joined the former Sterling-Winthrop Research Institute in Rensselaer, N.Y. where he performed research and development work and became Head of the Pilot Plant. After Eastman Kodak assumed ownership of Sterling Drug, Inc. in 1988, Chemical Development was relocated to Collegeville, Pa. in 1993. After the sale of the prescription drug business by Kodak to Sanofi, now Sanofi Aventis, in 1994, Oesterlin retired from Sanofi as a Director of Chemical Development in 1995.Rolf was an avid fitness and sport enthusiast. His mantra, ‘aggressively pursue your limitations’ led to a number of feats and injuries – thankfully in unequal numbers – and by result he was on a first name basis with a number of orthopedic doctors and surgeons on the Eastern Seaboard. Starting at a young age and continuing throughout his early 60’s he skied often and ran competitively. When he could no longer run and ski due to his severely compromised knees, he took up road biking. Rolf would ride anywhere between 20-50 miles daily and participate multiple times in multi-day cycling events such as the Trek Across Maine and the D.C. to Philadelphia AIDS rides. He continued to ride into his 80s. Rolf had an appreciation for diverse cultures and customs. He initially invited international students to his parent’s home in Frankfurt during his time in college which led to a passion for travel throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Mexico and Latin-America with his wife Lovye. Rolf was a member of Schlaraffia, a German-speaking organization that he attended weekly. Rolf was known for his dry wit and enjoyed speaking his native tongue and participating in the humorous antics of the club.Rolf was a husband, father, grandfather, uncle, son, brother, friend, and mentor. He was admired by all for his accomplishments both professionally and personally. It didn’t matter if he was developing a drug patent, doing home renovation, tuning skis or changing the oil on his car; he always aimed for perfection. He had an unwavering attention to detail, a strong work ethic and passion to give everything his maximum effort.His death is preceded by his daughter Monika A. Witshire (Rodney). He is survived by his wife, Lovye Gwendolyn (Davis); daughter Barbara E. Oesterlin-Heath (Richard), son Michael R. Oesterlin (Elizabeth), daughter Margrete I. Oesterlin Jean-Louis (Jimps); and grandchildren Christian Heath, Adrian Heath, Frances Oesterlin, Annaliese Oesterlin, Peter Oesterlin, Sebastien Jean-Louis, and Tristan Jean-Louis. He was a huge presence and will be missed by his family and friends.A memorial will be planned for a later date.

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