David Lee Price

David Lee Price died February 11, 2017 at home from complications of Melanoma. David was the tenth child of Mary (nee Stevenson) and Anthony Price, born November 8, 1947 in Indianapolis, IN. He grew up with his nieces and nephews and was very active in his church. In 1965, upon graduation from high school, David enlisted in the Air Force but promised his mother he wouldn’t volunteer to go to the war in Vietnam. He served in Europe instead and then returned to the States 1969. He considered seminary, but reenlisted in the Air Force and served in the southwestern United States, Korea, the Midwest, Texas, Alaska and finally Montana. In 1989, he retired as a Master Sergeant and returned to Alaska with his daughter, who he was single-parenting. Upon retirement, he enrolled in Alaska Pacific University and then the University of Alaska, Anchorage. He worked and went to school full-time until 1995 when he graduated with his bachelor’s degree in sociology. In 1996, he enrolled at Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, IL and graduated with a master’s of divinity in 1999. After earning his master’s he was ordained and became the vicar of St. Francis Episcopal Church in Mill Creek, WA. He loved serving in the ministry and was known for his sermons and pastoral care, for hosting the Men’s Prayer Meeting (over scotch and cigars) and leading countless educational hours. In 2003, he married Donna and they settled together in Monroe. David served at St. Francis until 2007 and then as supply clergy for the Church of the Transfiguration in Darrington, WA, where he finally retired in 2011.

David was a voracious reader especially of mysteries, and a prolific writer. He loved sports, sometimes to the chagrin of those around him – during the baseball strike in the 1990s, he even watched water polo! He loved a corny dad joke and could tell a story like a sage. He loved to learn and was a master of trivia, by doing things like reading dictionaries and almanacs. He loved romantic comedies, fishing, Alaska and long drives with his wife Donna. In his retirement he took up painting with Bob Ross dvds and wood carving in his smoke shack. More than anything, he loved his friends and family.

In 2005, he was diagnosed with Melanoma, which returned in 2010. After chemotherapy and radiation, in 2011, he went into remission, calling himself the “miracle man” for the rest of his life.

David is survived by his wife Donna (nee Maser); daughters Shana McCauley and Crystal Omeg; sisters Wanda White and Elsie Brown; son-in-law Ryan and grandsons Killian, Quincy and Finlo McCauley; many sisters- and brothers-in-law and so many friends. His ashes will be spread later in Alaska.