Capt. Dennis Trone Dies

TRONE

Posted By: Volunteer
Date: 6/8/2008 at 18:59:43

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Former local businessman Trone dies in plane crash

He was the last president of the former Dubuque Boat and Boiler Co.

By EILEEN MOZINSKI TH staff writer

Capt. Dennis Trone, a former Dubuque businessman and the last president of the former Dubuque Boat and Boiler Co., died in a plane crash Monday.

The 77-year-old was the only one on board the amateur-built, single-engine plane when it crashed near the Brodhead (Wis.) Airport Monday, according to the Associated Press. Trone was the only person on the plane, and the cause of the crash is under investigation.

Trone, an Annapolis graduate and Navy veteran, was heralded as a pioneer in the revitalized boat-excursion profession by some river enthusiasts.

Dave Tschiggfrie was introduced to Trone when Tschiggfrie used to haunt the boat yards as a boy and the two formed a friendship. Tschiggfrie was immediately impressed with Trone's diverse set of interests.

"He was quite a well-rounded and very talented man in many ways, and the river community is going to miss him tremendously," Tschiggfrie said.

Trone, who was living in Petersburg, Ill., also was interested in vintage aircraft and logged many hours in the air.

In addition, Tschiggfrie said Trone was a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy before returning to his Midwestern roots and joining the Dubuque Boat and Boiler Co.

Trone was responsible for designing and supervising the construction of scores of diesel-powered excursion boats for the inland rivers from the late 1950s to the early '70s, according to Tschiggfrie. In 1970, he designed and built the steamboat Julia Belle Swain, the last steamer built in Dubuque.

"Dennis was really instrumental in the rebirth of excursion boating in this country," Tschiggfrie said.

Tschiggfrie said Trone also was a Naval engineer and had a license to pilot riverboats, as well as a steam engineering license.

"The term that comes to mind is 'renaissance man'," said Tschiggfrie, who described Trone as personable and likable.

"People who worked on the river or had any interest in the river, they were always welcome aboard Dennis' boats," he said.

Jerry Enzler, the executive director of the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium, said a museum exhibit has a recording of Trone discussing his years in the area.

"He was not only a very talented engineer and engineering entrepreneur, but he was a historian," Enzler said.

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