Philip Dale Redenbarger was born December 21, 1944, in Brazil, Indiana to Donald and Elizabeth Redenbarger. He began his education in a one-room brick schoolhouse in Hoosierville and continued at Jackson Township Elementary, Brazil High School, Rose Hulman Institute of Technology and Indiana State University. He held a master’s degree from Indiana State and was a registered Professional Engineer in Indiana, Nevada, Pennsylvania and New York. He authored many technical articles and white papers that were published in trade magazines and professional society publications, including Gas World, The Cryogenic Society of America, OEM Magazine, Diesel Progress Magazine and others. He held 14 United States Patents. He claimed to be one of the luckiest guys alive to have grown up in Clay County, Indiana, in the Midwest, in the USA, in a small town and in the 1950s.
On January 28, 1967, Phil was married to his high school sweetheart, Patricia Oeding, who remained his wife and co-conspirator until his death. They lived their lives together on the family farm in a home designed by Pat and built by Phil.
Phil worked as a mechanical engineer for the JI Case Company in Terre Haute from 1967 until 1986. He then worked for BF Goodrich in Bloomington from 1986 until 2000, rising to General Manager Worldwide of the business. Phil served part-time as a forensic engineer for Robsin Lapina, examining accidents and testifying in court cases for twenty years. He finished his career as a past Board Member and Vice President of Engineering for Technifab Products in Brazil, Indiana, from 2000 to 2016 then continued as an Engineering consultant through 2026. The Technifab team affectionately regarded him as the “Grand Poobah” of all things engineering. He loved his work, was a lifelong learner and remained actively engaged in engineering until the very end.
Phil was a member of the Prairie City Community Church. He was also a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers, where he chaired both the serviceability and braking committees. He was a member of the Brazil Elks, Eagles, Moose, American Legion Post number 2, Sycamore Country Club, and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He was a past president of the Board of Directors of both the Clay County Chamber of Commerce and the Clay County YMCA. He was a past president of the YMCA of the Wabash Valley Advisory Council. He was also a member of the Clay County Parks Association, Project Manager for the Craig Park Bridge and President of the Hickory Lakes Water Utility. Phil was a part-owner of Kitchens & Interiors in Terre Haute from 1990 until 2020.
Phil enjoyed his collection of motorcycles and automobiles, worldwide travel and his many friends. He and Pat had traveled across the globe. He also traveled each year by motorcycle and had traversed 41 of the 48 states, and traveled in Canada and Mexico. He produced many trip reports from his encounters on the road.
If friends so desire, memorial contributions may be made in his memory to the Philip D. Redenbarger Memorial Fund at the Wabash Valley Community Foundation, 200 South 8th Street, Terre Haute, IN 47807.
