Mr. David H. Bechtel, 83, of West Des Moines, died Friday, March 30 after several months of failing health. The body was cremated and he requested that no memorial service be held; rather that family and friends spend a few moments in individual remembrance. Mr. Bechtel was born in Ames and moved to West Des Moines in 1960 to work for the Iowa Department of Education, from which he retired in 1991. He was previously employed by Iowa State University and the Cerro Gordo County Board of Education in Mason City. He was a U. S. Air Force veteran of the Korean conflict; a life member of the National Education Association; a member or Epsilon Pi Tau, the International Honorary Professional Fraternity in Technology, from which he received the Laureate ans Distinguished Service awards; a member of the education honorary Phi Delta Kappa; and a member of the Iowa School Masters Walt Whitman Club. He is survived by three sons; Gary, of Dubuque, Iowa; Richard, of Lincoln, Nebraska; and Charles, of West Des Moines. He was preceded in death by his wife Patricia and a a son, Neil. www.mclarensresthavenchapel.com
