David R. McGilvary

David Rigsbee McGilvary was born in Durham, North Carolina June 1928, son of late Sebastian David McGilvary and Essie Rigsbee McGilvary. He joined the Air Force when he was 22 years old. Before he joined the Air Force he had been drafted into the Army. He was supposed to be drafted on a Thursday, so he joined the Air Force the Tuesday before. He figured if he was going to be drafted, he should be able to choose which branch.

David was in the Air Force for nearly 30 years (29 years, 11 months, and 30 days to be exact). He was stationed all over the world including, Germany, Vietnam, Korea, and multiple states in the United States, (Texas, Mississippi, Georgia, Delaware, Minnesota, Arizona, and Virginia).

In 1954 David was stationed in Labrador and had to fly a F94 to Delaware. Since he had some extra time, he decided to take a detour and did a flyover of his hometown of Durham North Carolina, his father especially enjoyed that. He met his late wife Marilyn “Patt” Bouchard while he was stationed in Duluth, Minnesota. David’s only daughter Dana was born while they were stationed at Hahn air base in Germany.

David earned his bachelor’s degree from St. Leo college while serving in the Air Force. After he retired, his last orders being the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he went to George Mason University and received his master’s degree in accounting. He once said about his time in the Air Force, “As news was made public that my organization would shortly transition from subsonic aircraft to supersonic ones I thought, ‘How lucky can you be? Getting to fly high-performance supersonic airplanes and getting paid too. What a wonderful life’”.

David led a wonderful life and graced many people with his loving, generous spirit. He is preceded in death by his wife Patt, stepson Stephen “Bergie” Bergan, his longtime partner Agnes Brown, his sister Sybil “Bea” Davis, and brother Robert “Bobby” McGilvary. He is survived by his sister Emily McGilvary Lang and her husband Robert Lang of San Diego CA, daughter Dana McGilvary Fry, son-in-law Joe Fry, granddaughter Hannah Fry, grandson Troy Fry and multiple nieces and nephews.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.demainefunerals.com for David's family.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in David's memory may be made to Wounded Warrior Project and the Alzheimer's Association.

Wounded Warriors asks if you'd like to honor someone, please use this address for mail acknowledgment: David McGilvary 10807 Steven Lee Ct, Fairfax VA 22032

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.demainefunerals.com for the McGilvary family.