David Emerson Updegraff

David Updegraff was born in Findlay, Ohio, on December 15, 1942, to Mervin and Loretta (Crippen) Updegraff. David died on December 25, 2024, at age 82. David married Jean (Ehlert) Updegraff on September 20, 1969, and enjoyed a happy marriage of 55 years.

David, his parents, and brother John lived in Ohio until David was 10 when they moved to the San Diego area then to Encino, CA.

David graduated from UCLA in 1966 with a Bachelor of Science in the School of Engineering. His career as a civil engineer began with the State of California. He enjoyed designing.

In late 1968 he met Jean Ehlert, who graduated from Ambassador College in Pasadena earlier that year. They met at a church service of the Worldwide Church of God in Glendale, California. They were married on September 20, 1969.

In the next several years, David and Jean lived in Glendale and then Burbank. Their daughter Renee was born in 1971, and son John in 1973.

With a job change, the family moved to Orange County in 1974. In 1977, David began work at the County of Orange, moving up to Senior Civil Engineer. He worked on various public projects, including highway and street improvements, flood control and various responsibilities in coordination with cities and other agencies. After 27 years of service for the County of Orange, he retired in 2005 at age 62.

Being a Christian was part of his very being since age 22. He and Jean were members of the Worldwide Church of God and then the United Church of God.

David was very active in our congregations and served in many capacities, including chairman of the local church council, facilities coordinator, and photographer. He loved photography. He was a deacon in our church since 1999 and served God and the people faithfully.

David and Jean have been members of a local Toastmasters club since 2005.

David and Jean traveled all around the world for our annual church conventions. Together they have visited 15 countries, including Canada, Mexico, England, Wales, Scotland, France, Italy, Greece, Israel, Jordan, New Zealand, Thailand, Hong Kong and Singapore. David and Jean attended 36 different church convention sites and visited most of the United States and nearly half of the U.S. National Parks. Besides the Feast cruise to Alaska in 1994, David and Jean joined Jean’s sister Nancy and brother-in-law Michael Heiss for two other cruises to Alaska and two local West Coast cruises. David and Jean visited beautiful northeast Ohio almost every year to visit our son John and family and were adventurous enough to take the train two times and see more of the countryside.

David loved to tinker, fix things, and figure out how to do things better. He loved to listen to classical music. David was an intelligent, quiet, even-tempered, patient and methodical person who handled all his responsibilities well and strived for perfection. He had a dry wit and sense of humor and was a wonderful and gentle husband and father.

He was delighted with Renee and John. Renee graduated from Ambassador College in Big Sandy, Texas, in 1994 and works as a worker’s comp senior claims adjustor. John received a PhD from UCLA and is a professor of psychology at Kent State University in Ohio. John has two children, ages 17 and 15.

Throughout nearly all of his life, David was fit and healthy and he loved riding his Peugeot bike on Sunday afternoons. A cervical neck surgery in June 2023 left him with several side effects yet he met these health challenges with a calm fortitude. In his last weeks, a series of infections led to severe pneumonia which he was unable to recover from. On December 25, 2024, he died peacefully with his family at his side.

David is survived by his wife Jean, daughter Renee, son John, grand-children Evan and Lauren, brother-in-law Michael Heiss and nephews David and Ben Heiss, grand-nephew Thomas Heiss, and grand-nieces Kayla Heiss Holzmuller and Hanna Heiss.

The service will also be available via webcast on the Orange County congregation website. The link is: https://www.ucg.org/webcast/orange-county-ca. A password is required; it is: treeoflife

A private family graveside service will be on January 16, 2025, at Westminster Memorial Park in Westminster.