Daniel F. Rattigan Sr. | Business owner, 70

Daniel F. Rattigan Sr., 70, of Lambertville, a company owner and Bucks County civic activist, died of complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Thursday at Temple University Lung Center in Philadelphia.

Mr. Rattigan was diagnosed with his lung disease five years ago. He was told the condition was fatal, said his son, Daniel Jr., but he decided to fight. Three years ago, Mr. Rattigan underwent a new lung-reduction procedure at the Temple center, and the surgery prolonged and improved his quality of life, his son said. Mr. Rattigan was so grateful that he and his wife, Barbara Estes Rattigan, appeared in the lung center's commercials.

The couple married in 1961 and began DBR Industries from the basement of their Yardley home seven years later. The company, which supplies seals and gaskets, is now in Newtown.

Mr. Rattigan graduated from Northeast Catholic High School in Philadelphia and attended LaSalle University. He then served in the Marine Corps for two years in the States. He worked for a gasket company in Philadelphia before starting his own business.

His passions were politics and poker, his son said. He was past chairman of the Bucks County Republican Committee; served as a Lower Makefield Township supervisor in the 1980s; and was former chairman of the board of Bucks County Community College. The Rattigans moved to Lambertville five years ago.

In addition to his wife and son, he is survived by daughters Susan Tessel and Jennifer Andreoli; a brother; a sister; and five grandchildren.

A Funeral Mass will be said at 10 a.m. today at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, 137 W. Upper Ferry Rd., West Trenton.

Memorial donations may be made to Temple University Lung Center, 3401 N. Broad St., Philadelphia 19140.