Obituary published on Legacy.com by Precht Rose Chapel - Chelan on Mar. 11, 2026.
DAVID N. MILBURN
David N. Milburn passed away March 10, 2026 in
Peoria, Arizona at age 89. Dave was born in 1936 in Wenatchee to Fred and Eunice Milburn. He grew up in Manson and graduated from Chelan High School in 1954. He was quarterback for the Fighting Goats in 1952 and 1953, played on the basketball team at the state tournament, was president of the Student Council and a member of the Honor Society. His favorite activities included swimming, boating, fishing, water skiing, hunting, scouting, trap shooting and flying. He won the Manson Gun Club trap championship when he was eleven years old. He learned to fly a seaplane at Chelan Airways when he was fifteen and received a private pilot's license at sixteen. Although Dave flew only as a private pilot, he continued on to earn a commercial pilot's license for single engine airplanes, both land and sea. He was very active in Don Morse's Troop 53 of the Boy Scouts and attended two National Jamborees.
Dave attended the University of Washington where he received a degree in Business Administration with a major in accounting and a minor in economics and finance. He was an active member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. Dave also was named a Distinguished Graduate of the UW's Air Force ROTC program. After serving as an officer in the U.S. Air Force he was discharged at the rank of captain and moved to Seattle with his family to begin a 35-year career as a Certified Public Accountant, the first half of which was spent with a large international accounting firm where he served as the firm's partner-in-charge of tax services for the Seattle office. The remaining half of his career was committed to his own CPA practice in Bellevue, specializing in the rendition of federal income tax consultation services to the insurance industry.
He was very active in many organizations and was a noted speaker and lecturer on tax matters at numerous civic, governmental, business and firm events as well as professional associations. During his tenure in the Seattle area, active memberships in social organizations included, among others, the Seattle Rainier Club and the Overlake Golf and Country Club.
Upon retirement Dave moved with his wife, Ruth, to East Wenatchee where they lived for nineteen years. He was an active member of the Wenatchee Senior Center where he loved to play table tennis and Wii bowling. Other favorite activities and hobbies included model electric trains, model radio-controlled airplanes and the piano. Dave and Ruth also loved their RV and roamed southward most winters to Florida or Arizona. In 2016 they permanently relocated to
Peoria, Arizona.
Dave is survived by three sons: Jeffrey (Theresa) of Lakehead, CA, Steven (Deb) of Arlington, WA, and Ted (Carrie) of Snohomish, WA; three grandchildren: Nathan (Haylee) of Kirkland, WA, Max of Republic, WA, Tehya of Plano, Texas, and great-grandson Wilden of Plano, TX., and several nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Dave was preceded in death by his wife, Ruth; parents, Fred and Eunice Milburn; sister, Joyce Hughes; brother, Don Milburn and wife, Jeannine. He will be laid to rest next to his wife, Ruth, in the Chelan Fraternal Cemetery. There will be no funeral, memorial or graveside service. Memorial donations may be made to the
American Cancer Society.
Please leave any thoughts and memories for the family at www.prechtrose.com. Services are under the direction of Precht Rose Chapel of Chelan.