David Alan Huss

David Alan Huss peacefully crossed into eternity to be with his Lord and Savior on January 6, 2024. By his side was his wife of 56 years, Sylvia, and he was surrounded by his children, grandchildren, his sister Rachel Vasey, and friends of the family as he went home.

David was born on December 18,1942 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, graduated from Portsmouth High School (NH) and received a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of New Hampshire. He liked to note that while at UNH, he could have been the worst NCAA Division 1 basketball player in the country, as he was the 12th man on the 12-man UNH squad. UNH had the worst win-loss record in their conference, and their conference was the weakest conference in the nation. David married Sylvia, his college sweetheart, on July 1, 1967, and, following his stint as an Army Officer Candidate School Drill Officer, moved to Washington state where he worked as a field engineer on the Grand Coulee Dam. It was in Washington that David and Sylvia began their family by adopting the first two boys of what would eventually become a family of eight adopted children. Their motto was that there was always room for one more.

Work on Bureau of Reclamation water supply projects took David, Sylvia and family from Washington, to South Dakota, North Dakota and finally to Phoenix where David was the chief field engineer for the Waddell Dam project. When the dam was completed, David retired from federal service and began his second career, making use of his Professional Engineering certificate to teach science at both Grace Christian School and Phoenix Christian High School. Always creative, he used his love of the guitar to teach his students songs incorporating basic physics and chemistry equations, axioms, and theorems. He ended his working career volunteering to take on maintenance and support roles for the Christian Family Care Agency of Phoenix.

Throughout their marriage, David and Sylvia were active participants in the various churches they attended in their journey across the country. David served, depending on the church, as deacon or elder, Sunday School and Bible Study teacher and occasional pulpit supply. David was the epitome of a devoted husband and father. His life-long focus was on the welfare, protection, and well-being of his family.

David was preceded in death first by his younger brother Peter Stanley Huss, then by his father, Stanley Burton Huss, and then by his mother, Elinor Muriel Huss (nee Salmon). He is survived by his wife Sylvia Ann Huss (nee LaFrance), older sister Rachel Ann Vasey of Phoenix, and younger brother Jonathan Robert Huss of Salado, TX along with his wife Deborah.

He is also survived by his eight children; Daniel and Andrea Huss with their five children, Michael Huss and his wife Jessica, Becky Vasey and her husband Nathan with their three children, Ruth Everhart and her husband Peter with their three children, Rachel Chavez and her husband Sean with their three children, Joel Huss and his wife Maria and four children, Gabriel Huss, and Nathaniel Huss and his wife Emily with their 3 children and one on the way.

A celebration of David’s life will be held on January 26th, 2024, at Living Streams Church, 7000 North Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ beginning at 10:15 am. A viewing at 9:00 am will precede the celebration service. There will also be a graveside service at 2:00 at the National Memorial Cemetery of Phoenix, 23029 N Cave Creek Rd, Phoenix, Az. In remembrance of David Huss, the family asks that any donations be made to Christian Family Care at www.cfcare.org or by calling 602- 234-1935.