David Winslow Culver

David Winslow Culver was born on April 21, 1934, to Billie Winslow Culver and Annie Bell Elinor Culver on the family farm in Dresden, Tennessee. He worshiped at the Dresden Cumberland Presbyterian Church and attended Lamb's School and the Dresden Schools where he was active in Football, FFA, and Beta Club. before graduating in 1951. He matriculated at the University of Tennessee Martin Branch for one year before graduating in 1956 at UT Knoxville with a BS in Dairy Science. To fund his college education, he proudly worked various jobs including involvement with converting the family farm to a US Grade A Dairy.
David was Commissioned through Army ROTC at UTK and was later stationed at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, TX as a 2nd LT. After two years in Active duty, he continued to serve in the US Army Reserves for thirty years, retiring as a Lt. Colonel. After the Army, David attended the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and earned a Master's in Agriculture Economics. He then enrolled in the University of Illinois PhD program in Agriculture Economics where he completed all his coursework and preliminary exams for a doctorate and studied German. His dissertation focused on US Milk Marketing Orders.
His first career job was at the University of Georgia, a combination of teaching and extension in the Department of Agricultural Economics. In early 1968, David and his family moved to Northern Virginia, where he worked in Washington DC for the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service in the Agricultural Outlook Group, which he later headed.
In 1975, David accepted a position with USAID in Seoul, Korea, helping to establish an Agricultural Outlook program for the Korean Ministry of Agriculture. He returned to USDA in Washington in late 1977.
In 1985, he moved to USDA's Foreign Agriculture Service and became the Agricultural Attache in Morocco based in Rabat, Morocco. In 1990, he became the Agricultural Counselor for Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Yemen, and Dubai based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He was involved in building USDA's first national agricultural economic model. David retired in 1995 after serving the US Department of Agriculture for thirty years.
On March 8, 1997, David married Ruth Hensley Vandermark Culver of Arlington, VA, and they moved to Dayton, VA where he was a member of Dayton United Methodist Church, the Town of Dayton Planning Commission, and Ruritan National Club which supports Urban and Rural communities In Times of stress And Need through Fellowship, Goodwill, and Community Service. David moved from the family farm seven decades ago, but his heart has remained with rural development. His special interests included real estate, the stock market, the Culver Family Farm in Dresden, and visits with his family.
David was preceded by his parents, his son, Lawrence David (Larry) Culver (1958-1965), and four siblings (Billie Wray Culver, Genella Culver Smith Forrester, Billy Wayne Culver, and Charles Mitchell (Charlie) Culver on March 29, 2024). In addition, he was preceded by nieces Norma Ann Smith Mauldin and Mitzi Elinor Smith Garadalia, and stepson-in-law, David Irby.
David is survived by his wife Ruth of Bridgewater, VA, his daughter Pamela Culver (Dan) Goulet, three grandsons (Philip (Nicole), Michael, and John Goulet), and one great-grandchild (Alexis Joan Goulet), all of Jacksonville, FL.
He is also survived by his youngest sibling, James Andrew (Nancy Neese) Culver of Nashville, and his sister-in-law Judy Nowlin Culver of Dresden.
In addition, he is survived by three stepchildren: Jennifer Vandermark Irby of Locust Grove, VA; Carol (James) Vandermark William of Myrtle Beach, SC; and David (Elizabeth) Vandermark of Ann Arbor, MI. He also has five stepgrandchildren: John (Kaitlyn) Irby and Kyle Irby and Henry, Vance, and Margaret Vandermark.
David also leaves cherished memories with his Culver nieces and nephews. Genella Smith Pike (Oxford, GA), Lee Smith (Rex, GA), Josie Smith (Atlanta, GA), Mitchell Culver (Dresden, TN), Melissa Culver Johnson (Columbia, TN), Ellen Culver Thacker (Virginia Beach, VA), Rance Culver (St Augustine, FL), David Culver (his Washington, DC namesake), Emily Culver Bigelow (Nashville, TN), Julie Culver Hibshoosh (Brooklyn, NY), and Michael James Culver (Cambridge, MA) as well as numerous great-nieces and great-nephews and some great-greats, too.
A memorial service will be held at 1:30 PM on Sunday, November 10, 2024 at Lantz Chapel of the Bridgewater Retirement Community with Chaplain Russ Barb officiating. The family will receive friends 30 minutes prior to the service.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 201 St. Jude’s Place, Memphis, TN 38105-9959.
Online condolences to the family may be shared at www.johnsonfs.com. Arrangements are by Johnson Funeral and Cremation Service in Bridgewater.