LTC (RET) David W. Duttweiler of San Antonio, Texas passed away on October 11th after a brief illness. He was 94. He was born in Buffalo, New York, September 15, 1927, the son of Alfred F. Duttweiler, an Evangelical United Brethren Pastor, and Mary S. Duttweiler. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1948 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering. Six months later he was drafted into the Army where as a Private, he was posted to Fort Belvoir to teach engineering technicians. David liked Army life and in 1949 earned a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Medical Field Service Corps. In in 1953, while posted to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, Captain Duttweiler met his wife Patricia Cloud Laird. After a whirlwind romance, they were married in July 1953 and soon left for assignment in Salzburg, Austria. Subsequent Army assignments took them to Landstuhl, Germany, Edgewood Arsenal and Walter Reed Army Hospital in Maryland. In 1967 he supervised the Army’s environmental health program in Viet Nam for which he was awarded the Legion of Merit, the seventh highest Military award.
He retired from the Army in January 1969 as a Lieutenant Colonel after serving as an instructor for the Medical Field Service School at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. In civilian life, he served as the Director of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Protection Laboratory in Athens, Georgia. In 1984 David retired after achieving the civilian rank of Senior Executive Service. David then followed his wife in her career to Austin, Texas; Rock Hill, South Carolina; Clemson, South Carolina, and then, upon his wife’s retirement, to the Army Residence Community (ARC) in San Antonio. David was active in golf groups at both the ARC and Fort Sam Houston, enjoyed the activities in the ARC, San Antonio cultural experiences and travel.
Other activities in his lifetime include involvement in various United Methodist Churches and SPEBSQSA – the Society for Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America. David is survived by his wife of 68 years, Patricia, their sons Michael (Susan Crowell) of Clermont, GA; William (Delaina Foster) of Houston, Texas; Jonathan (Laura) of Hampton, Georgia; James (Kathy) of Universal City, Texas; Patrick of Los Angeles, California; former daughter in law, Ellen Duttweiler of Athens, Georgia; 13 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to one of David’s favorite charities: The World Wildlife Fund, The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, or The American Heart Association.
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