David Maier

1950 - 2025

David Maier
Glen Carbon - Longtime Collinsville dentist, David Parke Maier, died in his beloved home on February 5, 2025, after surviving brain cancer for seven years. He was born in San Diego, the son of Owen and Jewel Maier. He grew up playing Little League and surfing, skipping his high school graduation because the waves were up.
He was a veteran of the US Air Force, where he served as a volunteer (guinea pig!) for NASA's Apollo Moon Project. In an experiment dealing with the effects of weightlessness, he remembered getting to 11 G's before passing out. It was while serving as a computer programmer that he met his wife, Mary Pratten. They married in 1971 and moved to Scott AFB to work on a cargo and passenger reservation system. After the service, he received an undergraduate degree in Chemistry and Biology before graduating from SIU School of Dental Medicine. He opened a dental practice in Collinsville and taught Crown & Bridge part-time as a professor at the dental school.
A selfless, devoted, and loving husband and father, he was best known for his devastating (and warped) sense of humor and fanatical work ethic. He was never happier than when he was by the ocean in La Jolla or having wine time with his wife. He loved working in his woodshop, even designing and building his own gazebo using trigonometric tables. A die-hard Notre Dame fan, he would bring family and friends to games every year, gathering at his father-in-law's bench as the band marched by before following them into the stadium to cheer on the Irish.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by three children, Lisa Maier (Wells Wheeler) of Des Peres, MO, Cheryl Lamkin (Kris) of Wildwood, MO, and Craig Maier (Sarah) of LaGrange IL, and eight grandchildren, Anna, John, and Claire Wheeler, Katherine and Joseph Lamkin, and Eleanor, Ethan, and Thomas Maier. Also surviving are his brothers, Robert Maier and Christopher Maier; his sister-in-law, Carol Pratten Smith; and his brothers-in-law, Don Pratten, James Pratten, and Robert Pratten.
Visitation will be held February 22nd at Sunset Hill Funeral Home from 1 to 3 p.m. Donations in his memory may be made to the American Brain Tumor Association: https://give.abta.org/fundraiser/6068511.