David Lee DeVary

The Western art world lost artist and former Chicago resident, David Lee DeVary, 77, on August 4, 2020, in Atlanta, Georgia. David was born and raised in Bloomington, Illinois. He married Barbara Urbaniak of Bloomington in 1963. They lived in Chicago and had two children, David Brian and Angela. As an Art Director, David worked at many of Chicago's finest advertising agencies, and by age 42, he was Senior VP and Creative Director at J. Walter Thompson. There, he was responsible for Clio-, Cannes-, and Addy-winning work. In 1989, David headed for Santa Fe to pursue an art career. He and Barbara had divorced and he later married a colleague, Lora Morton; they welcomed a daughter, Lee. David painted a unique, romanticized vision of the West. He has paintings in the permanent collections of four major art museums, as well as in many prestigious corporate and private collections worldwide.

He is survived by his life partner, Judith Griffey; his two daughters Angela DeVary Maxwell and Lee DeVary; his five grandchildren; his brother, Dennis DeVary; and his cousin, Linda Judd. When we can safely gather, David's ashes will be placed in St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery in Bloomington after a formal funeral and mass. A Celebration of Life will also be held in Atlanta at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you perform an unexpected and deliberate act of kindness in David's name. He would have loved that. To see his work, please visit www.daviddevarystudio.com