DAVID PEARSON ETTER

1928 - 2015

Poet David Pearson Etter died Friday, July 10, 2015, as a result of heart related complications at Good Samaritan, Mount Carroll, Illinois. Etter was born March 18, 1928, in Huntington Park, California, but relocated to the Midwest with a degree from the University of Iowa, two years in the U. S. Army, and jobs with Encyclopedia Britannica, Northern Illinois University Press, and McDougal, Littell, and Company. Etter's real life's work, however, was writing poems. While living in a succession of Midwest locations (Evanston, Geneva, Lily Lake, Elburn, and Lanark), Etter published thirty books and chapbooks of his own poems, which were included in over sixty textbooks and anthologies. He won a Carl Sandburg Award, a Midland Authors Prize, and an Illinois Sesquicentennial Citation. His most famous book, Alliance, Illinois, is a 1960s-era Spoon River Anthology, a collection of 222 mostly humorous portraits of citizens of Alliance, Sunflower County, Illinois. "Hands down the most impressive long work of poetry I've read in years," said California author and critic Raymond Carver. Etter's work influenced many younger readers and writers, and is the subject of many articles and book chapters. Dave Etter is survived by his wife, Peggy to whom he was married to since 1959. Also, daughter Emily Etter (Michael) Lewis and son George Etter (Kay) along with grandchildren Jessica & Samantha. Preceded in death by his mother, Judith Goodenow and father, Harold Pearson Etter. Also recently his brother, Robert Etter and sister Elizabeth Le Claire. A graveside service is planned for Wed. July 22, 2015 at 2:00 at the Lanark Cemetery, Lanark, IL. Arrangements are being handled by the Russell-Frank Funeral Home in Lanark. Online condolences and memories may be shared with the family at www.schwarzfh.com