December 27, 1929 - October 22, 2022
David Harrison Urner passed away peacefully in his sleep Saturday, October 22, 2022. He was
92. David was a Bakersfield native, born December 27, 1929 to Mildred and David E. Urner, who
had ventured from Kansas to seek new opportunities in California. In 1919, his father founded
Urner's Inc., Bakersfield's first specialty appliance store, and the family became an integral part
of the community.
David grew up in Kern County and graduated from Bakersfield High School in 1948 and
immediately became active in the family appliance and home furnishings business. One of his
major accomplishments in his early years was expanding the appliance business beyond
traditional retail by developing new relationships and sales to local and regional home builders.
Taking over for his father, he was president of Urner’s from 1980 to 2019.
As President of Urner’s, he continued his father’s legacy by moving the main downtown
showroom location to it’s current location on White Lane in 2000, followed by two specialty
Mattress showrooms and more recently, Urner’s opened another Appliance & Furniture
Superstore at Calloway & Rosedale in July 2022.
Born and raised in Bakersfield, David was very active in the community and was well known for
his outgoing, friendly nature, generosity, leadership, charitable endeavors, and compassion and
care for his family, employees, friends and colleagues. David was a founding member of the
Sister City Organization in 1961 when Wakayama, Japan became the first Sister City. He was
actively involved for over 60 years and served as President from 1991 to 1994. David was
passionate about their work to promote peace through the Sister City Organization and through
reciprocal cultural and educational exchanges. He was active in local civic organizations
including the East Bakersfield Kiwanis Club where he served as President in 1967.
As a young man, David married Helen Mc Nabb and together they had two children. After
divorcing, David re-married Marjory Rice-Urner, who had three children from a previous
marriage. David and Marge were happily married for over 44 years.
David was preceded in death by his wife, Marge Urner, and is survived by his children, Randy
Urner, Pam Urner, Diana Plotkin, Steve Illingworth and Carol Meek; his 13 grandchildren and 20
great-grandchildren.
A celebration of David’s life will be held on November 12, 2022 at 10 AM at Hillcrest Memorial
at 9101 Kern Canyon Road, Bakersfield. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of David may be
made to Bakersfield Sister City (https://www.bakersfieldsistercity.org/) to further support their
wonderful work in promoting international peace and friendship.
