David L. Prince
November 3, 1939 – October 27, 2025

Beloved husband of Mary F. Prince (nee Voltmer); dear father and father-in-law of Brian (Adina) Prince and April (Lee) Smith; loving grandfather of Charlotte and Davidson Smith; dear brother of Rose Emry, Robert (Judy) Prince and the late Rodger (late Marolynn) Prince, Donald (Shirley) Prince, Joseph Prince and Allen Prince.

David was born on a farm just outside of Fairfield, Iowa and learned to farm with Percheron horses with his father until tractors took over. Farming shaped his outlook throughout his life, and his connections to Iowa and the farm never wavered. Before graduating high school, he joined the National Guard and served for eight years. After high school he earned an associate's degree from DeVry University and a degree in electrical engineering from Washington University. He went on to work at the McDonnell Douglas Corporation and Boeing for 33 years.

David did not sit still. Drawing on his experience farming and his engineering know-how, he designed and built a house for his family, including the furniture and cabinetry within. He designed the house to be energy efficient before energy concerns were pervasive and it provided him with projects to fix, improve and maintain for the next 43 years. He finished several projects at his house and his son's the day before he died.

Throughout the years of working and building his house, he also looked after three farms in Iowa that were in the family. He was never happier than when discussing farming, the wildlife he saw there, and figuring out inventive fixes to problems as they cropped up. There was never a mechanical problem to which he couldn't find a solution, always with a calm disposition and a touch of humor.

That same creative, calm, humorous demeanor was apparent when playing with his young grandchildren. If they got fussy, he'd say, "How 'bout if we have some ice cream?", a solution their parents hadn't thought of. As soon as his granddaughter could speak, she called him Bubba, a name that stuck for the next twenty years. Bubba could always make things better.

When his son and daughter-in-law moved back to St. Louis, David made it possible for them to buy a house close to his and Mary's through his seemingly endless patience with a very difficult seller. More than once his son was ready to call off the sale, but David would say, "I'll just go talk to him some more…"; he was determined to have them living near him and Mary. He spent years helping them repair and upgrade the house, help he continued to give up to his last days with us.

For the last eleven years he was a member of the Master Gardener association in St. Charles. He spent many happy hours there volunteering and transferred much of that knowledge to his own large garden at home. Throughout his life he enjoyed camping and spent dozens of happy summers in Rocky Mountain National Park sharing his love of the outdoors and hiking with his children and grandchildren. He was a runner for much of his life and rode RAGBRAI eight times, beginning a tradition that lasts to this day of having at least one Prince family member ride RAGBRAI every summer. David and Mary were happily married for 63 years. In short, David was a man like no other.

Funeral at the Ortmann Stipanovich Funeral Home, 12444 Olive Blvd., Creve Coeur, on Saturday, November 15 at 1:00 p.m. followed by a visitation until 4:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made in David's name to the Ronald McDonald House or The Wounded Warrior Project.

Ortmann Stipanovich Funeral Home
www.osfuneralhomes.com