David Mitcheltree

KEOSAUQUA ? David Owen Mitcheltree, 69, of Keosauqua died Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017, in University of Iowa Hospitals in Iowa City.

Funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 18, at Pedrick Funeral Home in Keosauqua with the Rev. Joseph Phipps officiating. Visitation will open at 3 p.m., Friday at the funeral home, with the family present from 5 to 7 p.m. Burial will be in Purdom Cemetery in Keosauqua with military honors by Beer-Barker Post No. 113 American Legion, Keosauqua. Memorials to Van Buren Community Hospital Physical Therapy or Cardiac Rehab Department or Serve Outdoors may be left at the funeral home or mailed to the family at 704 Franklin Street, Keosauqua, IA 52565.

Mr. Mitcheltree was born Feb. 23, 1947, in Sharon, Pennsylvania, the son of William and Elsie (Pantall) Mitcheltree. He married Linda Jean Young on July 6, 1974, in Fairfield.

He graduated in 1965 from West Middlesex High School in Pennsylvania and served in the Air Force for four years, including two years in Takhli, Thailand. Upon his return to the States, he attended Penn State University and graduated in 1973 from Parsons College in Fairfield. He worked for the State of Iowa Department of Human Services in Van Buren County for 17 years as an income maintenance worker, resigning to work in various positions at Douds Elementary Schools, where he retired as a third-grade teacher in 2009. He was an avid outdoorsman, spending hours in his tree stand with his bow, or hunting for Indian artifacts in the streams of Van Buren County. He was a collector of antiques and enjoyed attending auctions. He loved teaching and never missed an opportunity to offer a life lesson. His family was his passion, and their travels together were treasured. He was a member of Serve Outdoors, which serves youth and disabled hunters; the First Presbyterian Church in Fairfield; and the Keosauqua Library Board. He served as president of the Van Buren Sports Boosters and was very active in the Van Buren Players.

Surviving are his wife, Linda, of Keosauqua; one daughter, Jessica Ehrenfelt of Richland; three brothers, Gary Mitcheltree and wife Christine of Florence, South Carolina, Jim Mitcheltree of Daytona Beach, Florida, and Ron Mitcheltree of Sharpsville, Pennsylvania; one sister, Carol Edmundson and husband Randy of Erie, Pennsylvania; five nieces and nephews; and eight great-nieces and great-nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; and seven aunts and uncles.