Rutledge, David William age 65, of St. Paul, Minnesota, passed away on December 15, 2017 in Dublin Ireland. Born in Kansas City, Missouri to Eva Jean (McCleary) Rutledge and Herbert Wallace Rutledge and raised in Vincennes, Indiana, David earned his BA and MA in Germanic Languages from Indiana University and worked toward a PhD in German Philology at the U of M. In 1985, David began teaching German and Spanish at Tartan High School, Oakdale, MN. He retired in 2014. David is survived by his daughter Molly Rowan Rutledge of St. Paul and his sister Nancy Rutledge Swan of Sudbury, MA and is preceded in death by his parents, his sister Jane Flummerfelt and his brother Dr. Edward Rutledge. A lifelong learner, linguist, historian and avid traveler, David was fluent in several languages with a working knowledge of over 20 languages. As a teacher, he organized student exchange trips with German high schools in Essen and Berlin each school year. Through travel and history Dave instilled in his students an appreciation of the wider world. He was active in the Twin Cities folk dance and Morris dance communities for almost 40 years. In retirement, David realized his dream of moving to Ireland and bought a house in Donegal a short walk from the Atlantic Ocean. True to his unique character, he decorated the outside of his house with symbols of peace and eternity from all over the world. Dave's memorial service and potluck will be Saturday, January 27 from 1pm to 5pm at Sokol Hall, 383 W Michigan St, St Paul. In lieu of flowers please consider contributing by check to the "David Rutledge Memorial Fund" c/o Sarah Purdy. These funds will help offset the expense of settling his Irish estate, with the majority being donated to Tartan High School's student exchange program. In addition, a memorial "Grove of Trees" will be planted in Scotland in David's memory.