David A. Learner

Learner, David A.
David Arthur Learner died on Tuesday, May 10 in Scottsdale, AZ. He was born November 22, 1919 in Rock Island Illinois to Freida Aronson Learner and Nathan Learner. His father came to Rock Island via Houston, Texas from Schlovoshnyk, Russia, near Kiev, in 1911, at the age of 26. His mother, Frieda passed away in October of 1927, leaving he and his sister, Edna and brother, Bertram. In 1930, his father married Rebecca Halpern. Rebecca had three children, Celia (Rubovits Heuman), Fay (Cooper) and Elsie (Baker). Nathan and Rebecca then had twins, Jacqueline (Sandler) and Marilyn (Abraham). David started working with his father when he was 10 years old, selling used cars at the family gas station at 730 9th Street. David graduated from Rock Island High School in 1937 and continued his education at St. Ambrose College in Davenport, Iowa. In October, 1941, he entered the US Army and after six weeks at Ft. Sill, OK, was sent to Fort Ord, California, then to Oahu, Hawaii for ranger training at Scoffield Barracks. He then shipped out to Saipan, where he was in the field artillery, driving a truck containing ammunition. He also served in Tinian, New Hebrides and Okinawa, returning to Fort Lewis, Washington, Battle Creek, Michigan and then Rock Island in October, 1945. He returned to Rock Island and, with his father, began a Willy's Jeep dealership in 1946, which became a DeSoto and then Chrysler dealership at 400 9th Street. He was an extraordinary man. Many of his acts of generosity will never be known. No one who knew him would ever forget his handshake or if he really liked you, a punch in the stomach. He was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, uncle and friend never ignoring the needs of anyone who was wanting. He was very involved in many community activities. He was an active member of the Tri City Jewish Center, receiving its Distinguished Service Award in 1962. He was on the Board of Directors of the Center beginning in 1954, and served for many years. He was President of the Center from 1965-1967. He was active in United Jewish Appeal, serving as its chairman as well as Israel Bond drives for many years. One of his proudest moments was when the mortgage for the Tri City Jewish Center was burned. He earned Chrysler's highest dealer award nearly annually during most of his over 50 years in the business. He was also on the National Dealer Council and Advertising Committee for Chrysler Corporation. He was a member of the Board of Directors of Franciscan Hospital and a Lay Representative of the University of Iowa Hospital Organ Transplant Committee. He was a Meals on Wheels volunteer, delivering meals on Christmas. He was a sponsor of Little League Baseball for 28 years. Since moving to Scottsdale, Arizona in November 2005, he had been an avid participant in the Men's Putting group at Vi at Grayhawk, taking great joy in his holes in one - he had one on his 90th birthday. He and his wife, Ruth also volunteered in the Care Center, delivering cookies and visiting with patients there. He is survived by his loving wife, Ruth; daughter and son-in-law, Lisa and Wally Maher, McLean, Virginia and Scottsdale; daughter and son-in-law Gail and Darrell Richardson of Scottsdale; and son and daughter-in-law Nathan and Marie and grandson Henry of Paradise Valley, Arizona, as well as sisters Marilyn Abraham of Scottsdale, Arizona and Jacqueline Sandler of Los Angeles, California and many nieces and nephews and great nieces and great nephews. He was preceded in death by his sisters Edna Kalina, Faye Cooper, Celia Heuman and Elsie Baker and brother, Bertram. Graveside services will be held Friday, May 13 at Beth Israel Memorial Cemetary 305 S. 35th Avenue, Phoenix, AZ. Donations in lieu of flowers should be made to the David and Ruth Learner Scholarship Fund, Tesseract School, 3939 E Shea Blvd. Phoenix, AZ 85028 or to the charity of your choice.