David Edward Birkle

David Edward Birkle was a soil scientist, socialist and devoted steward of the earth. He was born September 26, 1940, in Platteville, CO. The eldest of seven children born to William Ponder Birkle and Dorothy Campbell Birkle, he worked on the family farm until college.

Love of the land inspired him to attend and graduate from Colorado State and then go on to the University of California at Riverside (UCR) where he did graduate work at the newly established Citrus Research Station. Later David served 2 terms as Lapeer (MI) County Drain Commissioner. He returned to UCR for the new millennium where he eventually retired as a researcher from the Water Resources Center.

In retirement he worked as coordinator of the physical sciences labs until 2017. Aside from environmental science and his family, David's chief passion was genealogy, researching the Birkle and Campbell roots that grow deep in American soil and history.

Mr. Birkle is survived by his wife Mickey, his son Kurt, and his two grandsons: Eric and Bradley. He leaves behind his brother Donnie and his sisters Sharon, Anneta, Pam and Vicky. He will be greatly missed by his family, colleagues and the earthworms he faithfully rescued after every rain.