David William Malas

David William Malas, age 80, of Centerville, Ohio went to be with his Lord on January 19, 2024 surrounded by his loved ones in the comfort of his home. He was born June 10, 1943, on a small farm in the hills of Somerset County Pennsylvania. His parents were Emil William Malas and Kathryn Jean (Boehm) Malas. It was during the years of World War II, when many families were divided because of the war activities and relationships were disrupted. His father, Emil, served with the US Army in Europe for 2 ½ years. When he returned to the US, the war was over and so was their marriage. They divorced and David was mostly cared for by his paternal grandmother. He developed a severe case of double pneumonia and struggled to survive, which was the beginning of chronic COPD which would plague him for the rest of his life.

Due to a great deal of family discord and conflict during his adolescent years, David withdrew into his own world and learned to spend time by himself outdoors and away from people. Life on the farm provided many opportunities to observe the creation and the cycles of life around him. He enjoyed exploring nature and discovering how to fix or make things in his grandfather’s blacksmith shop. He developed a hunger for learning and enjoyed going to school, although the 1 ½ mile walk to the bus stop was challenging in Allegheny mountain winter times. His grandmother modeled hard work and regular reading of the Bible and devotional books. She would read and sing hymns in her native German tongue. They attended Trinity Evangelical Lutheran, a small country church in Glen Savage, Pennsylvania, every Sunday where he was baptized and confirmed.

During his high school years, David developed a number of close friends who became more like the extended family he never had. Those friendships remained a significant part of the rest of his life. In high school he studied vocational agriculture and was actively involved in the Future Farmers of America (FFA) organization. He enjoyed FFA projects, field trips and many chapter activities. Farming was the only life David could envision but God had other plans. On a frigid cold January night in 1958, their barn with all his cattle and machinery burned to the ground. His career ambitions in farming were over. His sports involvement was very limited in high school by respiratory health problems, although he would go on to enjoy adult basketball and baseball church leagues. He enjoyed performing in both junior and senior high school class plays. David stated that through it all God was working to build his confidence and trust in Him, that indeed “God would never leave me nor forsake me”.

In 1961 David graduated from Berlin Brothersvalley High School, Berlin, Pennsylvania, as Valedictorian of his class of 68 students. It was an honor he was not expecting. The following year facing the draft for military service, he enlisted in the United States Air Force. David was trained on airborne radio and electronic navigation equipment on F105 fighter aircraft and assigned to duty at Kadina Air Force Base on the island of Okinawa. He served in the military for 4 years (1962-1966), mostly in the Far East region, during the start-up of the Vietnam War. He achieved the rank of Airman First Class (E3), was awarded “Airman of the Deployment” recognition by the USAF 357th Tactical Fighter Squadron (1963) and was honorably discharged at McConnell Air Force Base, Wichita, KS, on Feb. 18, 1966. On May 8, 1965, while still in the military, David married Patricia Lea Bunner from Wichita, Kansas. She became his lifelong bride and mother of their two children.

Out of high school, David did not have the means or the ambition to attend college. With the electronic training in the USAF and some additional study, he was able to obtain a First Class FCC license and began working at Beech Aircraft Company, Wichita, KS, as a Radio and Electrical Technician in their Experimental Department. He was fascinated by seeing how airplanes fly and how to improve their flight characteristics. He also recognized that all the test pilots had engineering degrees and that became his motivation to pursue a college degree. In the fall of 1966 after having earned 4 years of GI Bill credits in the military and being trained in electronics, he enrolled at Wichita State University with the goal of obtaining a degree in Electrical Engineering. Earning college credits on a part-time schedule was a slow process, so he switched between full-time and part-time until May 1972, he finally succeeded in graduating Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (BSEE). David earned a membership in the Engineering National Honor Society, Tau Beta Pi and was elected WSU chapter President in 1971. He also was a member of the Electrical Engineering National Honor Society, Etta Kappa Nu, and was able to develop a network of future job contacts.

After college, David worked for Boeing Military Airplane Co. as an Avionics Design Engineer for 1.5 years and then accepted a position as a Test Engineer with NCR Corporation. He was employed by NCR for 32.5 years and retired in April 2006. Within 3 years at NCR, he was privileged to move into Manufacturing Engineering management and later held positions in Product Marketing, Professional Services and Process Quality Improvement. As Senior Process Consultant, he earned process appraiser qualifications through the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, to train and to certify engineering processes for companies bidding on software development projects for the US government. On retirement from NCR, David formed Process Pathways, LLC and operated his own process consulting business for 3 years. He once again retired and enjoyed playing some golf. In January 2010, he accepted a new position of Business Operations Manager at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Kettering, OH. In 2015, he hired and trained his replacement and retired for the third and final time.

One of the most important parts of David’s life was his spiritual journey. He was deeply involved in the church and the Navigators. Over the span of 20 years, he was discipled on how to know Christ in his own life in an ever increasing depth and how to share Him with others in everyplace he went. From there he continued the journey, memorizing over 200 verses of Scripture, building his security in Christ and learning to trust in God’s sufficiency. David enjoyed the privilege of leading many Scripture Memory classes, Bible study classes and Discipleship classes at church, at home and at work. David served as usher and Bible Class Leader at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Wichita, KS for over 20 years. He continued serving as Christ Care Small Group Co-leader, Church Elder and Chairman of Board of Education and Day School Board at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Kettering, OH. God was able to use David to personally disciple many young men and to encourage hundreds in their walk with the Lord.

Besides his spiritual journey, David’s proudest achievement was his family. David met the love of his life, Patricia, in Wichita, Kansas at the Skateland South skating rink on a Sunday evening in September 1964. They met thru mutual friends and began dating immediately after. David (age 21) and Patricia (age 17) were married in Tulsa, Oklahoma on May 8, 1965 only 5 weeks before David was deployed for five months in Thailand. Soon after his return, he completed his time within the Air Force. Together with his wife Patricia, they had two children, a daughter Kathryn and a son Daryl. David could often be found whipping up a batch of waffles for Saturday morning breakfast to give his wife a couple extra hours of rest. He loved working in the garden to can or freeze fresh vegetables for the coming year. He took time to coach and manage a little league baseball team and go hunting for Pheasant and Quail. David travelled extensively for work and at times, took his family along to enjoy the sights and a bit of vacation time. Although he rarely watched TV, he did enjoy the occasional game, especially college basketball and football.

David was preceded in death by his parents Emil Malas and Kathryn (Gus) Kern; brother Douglas (Donna).

David is survived by his bride of 58 years, Patricia; his daughter Kathryn (Kevin), son Daryl (RoxeAn); grandson Andrew (Megan), grandson Matthew, granddaughter Abigail (Anna), granddaughter Kaliena (Jacob), granddaughter Ashlynn (Ray), granddaughter Kathryn, grandson David (Julia), grandson Michael, granddaughter Sarah; brother Gus (Linda), sister Karen (John), sister Yvonne; and many cousins, nieces and nephews. All of who he was immensely proud and loved deeply.

A Memorial Service for David will take place on February 17, 2024 at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 4865 Wilmington Pike, Kettering, OH 45440. Visitation will be at 10:00a.m., Service at 11:00a.m., with a meal to follow at 12:00p.m. The Reverend Mark Carlson presiding. Flowers may be sent to the church for the service.

Online condolences may be sent to www.tobiasfuneralhome.com.