David William Dellefield

12/16/1936 - 07/31/2025

David Dellefield of Falls Church, Virginia, formerly of Alexandria Virginia, passed away peacefully on July 31, 2025, at Goodwin House Bailey's Crossroads where he resided. He was preceded in death by his first wife of 43 years, Diane Powell Dellefield, his sister, Darlene Cook, his brothers-in-law, Bill Cook and Vince Ruma, and his parents, Dorothy Forrest and Harris William Dellefield. He is survived by his wife of 12 years, Joan Brown Dellefield. He is also survived by his children and Joan's children, Anne Dellefield Mills (Matt), James Lindlauf (Sue), Dana Brown Kelly (Darren), and Jill Brown; and their grandchildren, Rebecca, Cassie, Mary Kate, Carl, Matt, Elena (Yazam), Micheal and Dylan. He is also survived by his sister, Diane Ruma, and his many nieces and nephews. David was born on December 18, 1936, in Lorain, Ohio. He was a graduate of Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, class of 1960. He was also a graduate of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces at Fort McNair, Washington, DC, class of 1975 and received his masters degree from Central Michigan University.
David worked for 34 years for the Department of Defense, mostly as a budget analyst in the Secretary of Defense Comptrollers Office and Reserve Affairs Office. He retired in 1994. In retirement, David did volunteer work with the Appalachian Trail Conference as a trail maintainer and with the National Park Service as a handler for the mule drawn barge on the C&O Canal in Georgetown, D.C. David grew up enjoying the outdoors on the shores of Lake Erie. His interests included running, hiking, sailing, traveling and visiting with his beloved friends and family. He was especially proud of running over 20,000 miles and completing four Marine Corp Marathons. Some of his happiest times were spent in the Northern Neck of
Virginia and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Relatives and friends are invited to attend a celebration of David's life at Goodwin House Bailey's Crossroads Chapel, 3440 S. Jefferson Street, Falls Church, VA, at 3 p.m. on Sunday, October 26. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in David's name to Goodwin Living Foundation - Team Member Support Fund at www.goodwinlivingfoundation.org.