David Brunton Casper

David Brunton Casper passed away at his home during a quiet, peaceful snowfall. His wife, son and daughter were with him, choosing to care for him at home after his recent diagnosis of stage four pancreatic cancer.
David was born at St. Mary Hospital in Walla Walla on April 28, 1936, to Kirk Brewer Casper and Lucile Brunton Casper. He attended the rural one-room Struthers School near the family ranch on Birch Creek, riding his pony to school each day. Later he attended Sharpstein School in town. He then attended Walla Walla High School where he was active in student government, National Honor Society, quarterback of the football team and excelled at distance running and the high hurdles in track. He graduated in 1954.
He attended college at Stanford University where he was a member of Chi Psi fraternity. He remained competitive in high hurdles at the collegiate level. He graduated in 1958 with a B.A. in Political Science. He entered the service after graduation, commissioned as second lieutenant in the United States Army.
Following his military service, David returned to his alma mater, working in the Placement Office, then progressing to the position of Assistant Director of Admissions at Stanford University. After reuniting with his high school sweetheart, Lou Ann Paulsen, the couple married in Seattle at the Church of the Epiphany in 1961. They then returned to California where both were employed by Stanford University.
Later, the couple moved to Walla Walla in order for David to work with his father on the family wheat ranch. He attained his private pilot’s license enabling  him an alternative perspective of the crops and fields. David and Lou Ann welcomed the birth of their two children, Jeffrey Kirk in 1965 and Jennifer Anne in 1967. Both children grew up helping on the farm, pitching pea vines in the spring and working wheat harvest in the summer with their dad. David took great pride in his children’s education and achievements over the years.
Always civic-minded, David served on the boards of the Children’s Home Society of Washington, Banner Bank, and the Walla Walla Y.M.C.A. He was a member of the Northwest Grain Growers and the Blue Mountain Land Trust. He was a passionate supporter of the Walla Walla Symphony and the Y.M.C.A.
He loved the outdoors. Each season brought new pleasures—hiking, biking, skiing with his wife and friends, often with his children and grandchildren.
He had a wonderful extended family—his Walla Walla friends, Sun Valley explorers, Stanford classmates, and his fishing and skiing buddies.
David was a true Renaissance Man. In addition to sports and history, the other centerpiece of his life was the arts. He enjoyed concerts and the theatre, dance performances and the visual arts. He loved museums and galleries, discovering new artists as he explored and traveled the globe. He had a wide-ranging curiosity about our world, sharing this sense of adventure and exploration with his wife and children.
He is survived by his wife, Lou Ann; his daughter, Jennifer Casper and her husband Richard Wylie, their children Keenan Casper Wylie and Lily Casper Wylie; and his son, Jeffrey and his wife Eryka Seimona Casper, and their children Dolphan Kirk Casper and Arabella Seimona Casper. He was preceded in death by his parents and brother, James Kirk Casper.
David’s family asks that in the current absence of any commemorative gathering, you instead remember him as you live your own adventures. May your exploration continue in peace, dear David.
Any memorial gifts may be made to the Walla Walla Symphony or the Walla Walla Y.M.C.A. in David’s name. (Walla Walla Symphony, P.O. Box 92, Walla Walla WA 99362, www.wwsymphony.org or Walla Walla Y.M.C.A. Development Office, 340 S. Park St., Walla Walla WA 99362, www.wwymca.org/give.)