David James Uhler

Born and raised in Chicago, David Uhler, a large man who wrote large stories, found a fascinating new home after arriving in San Antonio three decades ago. And he soon began going native.

“He immersed himself in all of it: Fiesta, rodeo, Hill Country fishing and a big smoker for cooking brisket that’s still in my backyard,” recalled his ex-wife Martha, still his best friend.

In time, Uhler acquired an old Ford pickup truck, got deeply involved in the Beethoven Maennerchor, a local German cultural club and also became a keen student of Texas history and culture.

As a feature writer for the San Antonio Express-News, Uhler reveled in the tall tales and rich stories to be found in South Texas and beyond. He became known for his deeply researched pieces on subjects ranging from the fabled King Ranch to the 50th anniversary of the Texas City refinery explosion, which killed nearly 600 people.

“He loved to sink his teeth into a good, long meaty feature or profile. He was just meticulous,” recalled Terry Bertling, a former Express-News editor.

Uhler, 69, died May 3, of bile duct cancer, an insidious affliction that moves quickly and without mercy.

The end came quickly: Just four days earlier, from his hospice bed in Southtown, he had spoken fondly of his chosen profession.

“It was the greatest job in the world. Trying to make the biggest difference you could, talking to as many people as you could and then writing that story,” he said.

“And when the people reading your story had a gleam in their eye, you knew you had hit the button,” he added.

A perfectionist whose stories were almost “forensically reported,” according to one editor, Uhler’s worst nightmare was an error getting into print.

“I hated corrections. I was very careful, but if I made a mistake, I’d hate myself for it,” he said.

A man of many talents and interests, Uhler was also a fly fisherman, an accomplished cook, a barber shop singer, a published sports photographer and a skilled restorer of the family’s old home.

His eastern European roots proved no obstacle to becoming a welcome member and eventually president at Beethoven, the oldest German men’s choir club west of the Mississippi.

“It’s more like having an affinity for it, than having it by blood,” said Claus Heide, 84, who preceded Uhler as president.

“He took German lessons so when German people came here, he could understand them,” he recalled.

Uhler first learned of the Beethoven through his participation in the Liederkranz, a German Catholic men’s choir that performs monthly at St. Joseph’s Church in downtown San Antonio. Several Liederkranz singers were also members of the Beethoven, a German social club and choir whose community-driven mission was admittedly less pious than the Liederkranz.

“Beethoven is sometimes considered a drinking club with a singing problem, but we did a lot of things for the community,” said David Nelson, the Beethoven choir’s director.

“David had a great voice. He was a leader and a good man for ideas,” he recalled.

Uhler took office just before the Covid hit and he kept the Beethoven open when many similar clubs were forced to close.

“I sang with him, and he’s been a great friend. He was very good with me when my wife passed away. The guys are going to miss him,” said Nelson.

As president, Uhler was Beethoven’s foremost promoter, often appearing wearing leather shorts known as lederhosen, an ornate beer stein in hand and a welcoming grin on his face.

“David is a big man and those are really funny shorts. They look like little kid’s britches held up by straps,” recalled columnist Elaine Ayala, then a features editor.

Uhler, she said, also had a quiet and sensitive side.

“There was something very emotional about David’s outlook on life. I think Martha and his daughter Katie were everything to him,” she said.

“And this was his emotional hometown. He was always all in on it,” she added.

In 2008, Uhler left the Express-News to focus on his private life, particularly Katie, his only child and a soccer playing prodigy. For years, they made two trips a week to Austin, where she played for a club team.

The payoff, beyond the tight-knit father-daughter relationship, was a four-year soccer scholarship to the University of Notre Dame.

“He wanted to set me up as much as possible for opportunities he did not have when he was growing up,” Katie said.

“I’m grateful for him instilling this belief that there was nothing I couldn’t do. He also instilled a love of learning and of understanding the place where we are,” she added.

Uhler is survived by his ex-wife and best friend Martha, his daughter Katie and siblings Bob Uhler, Karen Uhler and Donna Matt.

A memorial service will be held at the Beethoven Maennerchor on Sunday May 25th at 4 p.m.