David Rees Tree

David Rees Tree passed away in West Jordan, Utah on September 29, 2016. He was 80 years old. He was born to Ira Tree and Mae (Rees) Winters on July 18, 1936 in Wanship Utah. David was just 8 years old when his father died in WWII. He is the youngest of 4 children. He spent some of his childhood living on his Grandpa Tree's ranch where he learned to work hard. He milked cows and took care of farm animals and learned to garden. One of his great-granddaughters says, "Grandpa can whistle' really loud" I think he learned that on the ranch. As a teenager he moved to Lindon and went on to Pleasant Grove High School where he met Roberta Johnson. Their first date was to the Jr Prom. They attended church dances and school activities together. They were engaged to be married before David left on his mission. They wrote letters and Roberta waited for him. David fulfilled a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the North Central States Mission. He taught and saw only two people baptized. One, was a 9 year old boy. That boy with the help of many priesthood leaders stayed faithful to the church and later became the Mission president to David's Grandson Ben. David married his high school sweetheart Roberta in the Salt Lake City Temple on October 31, 1958 shortly after returning from his mission. They spent most of their 57 anniversaries handing out Halloween candy. David graduated from Brigham Young University with a BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering. He then attended Purdue University where he earned a Ph.D. and was offered a position as a faculty member. Professor Tree's research involved improvements in air conditioning and refrigeration as well as acoustics. At Purdue he taught many different Mechanical Engineering courses, advised graduate students, served as an Associate Chair, worked in the contracts office, and organized meetings for ASHRAE. Most of his research was done in the Herrick Laboratories at Purdue. He remained in West Lafayette for 45 years. In 1970, David was given the opportunity to take a sabbatical leave from Purdue. David, Roberta and 5 young children moved to South Hampton, England. David earned a post doctorate at the University. He served at church as a counselor in the district presidency while living there. While in England the family traveled all over seeing the sights. The last few weeks of the sabbatical they traveled all across Europe in a little camper trailer being pulled by their car. David loved BYU! Many a day he roused his children from bed by singing, Rise, and Shout the Cougars are out! He watched BYU football on TV at home and would often talk about his days there and want to hear about the goings on of the grandchildren and his son on the campus. On the last weekend of his life he wanted to hear about the BYU football game. David always had a garden. He would come home from teaching at the University and put on old clothes and head out to the garden to hoe a row or plant a little of this or that. Every Saturday morning he was up tending to the yard or garden. He could also fix things. He would take broken things apart and then put them back together and get them to work. He always had a project going. David loved cookies. Roberta says that he was the original Cookie Monster. She baked batches of cookies and would freeze half and later go to find them gone. He also liked to eat the chocolate chips right out of the bag by the handfuls. For years Roberta accused the children of eating the chocolate chips only to find them still gone after the children all moved away. David and Roberta purchased a pop up travel trailer and the family went camping a lot. He took them all across the country and around to all of the Church Historic sights. The family spent a terrible night in the trailer in Oklahoma once, only to find out the next morning a tornado had swept through. David had strong opinions, a feisty temperament, a passion for teaching, and a love for people. He loved to get to know people, to ask them questions and to follow their lives. He would often stop at a restaurant or any other public place to talk to a complete stranger. He was honest in his expression of belief and opinion. He was a man of integrity. He would tell you if he did not want to do something but if he said he would do it, it would be done. After retiring David and Roberta sold their home in Indiana and moved to West Jordan, Utah to be close to family. They have received a warm welcome here and made many new friends. Although they did not look back but forward; they clearly consider Indiana and their friends there to be a second family and their home. David was a faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served in numerous church assignment right up until his death. He served in Cub Scouts, Young Men's, Elders' and High Priests. He was Bishop of the Purdue Ward twice. He served 8 years as a Counselor in the Stake Presidency of the Indianapolis North Stake and multiple times on the high Council. David and Roberta were Temple workers. First at the Chicago Temple and then after the move to Utah, they served in the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. David's true love in life was the gospel of Jesus Christ and his Family. It gave him great pride and comfort to know that his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are all growing and learning in the gospel. David was preceded in in death by his father, mother and sister Noreen (Keith) Turnbow. He left behind his wife Roberta; sons, Alan (Rae) Tree, Dale (Karen) Tree; daughters, Robbi (Mark) Pixton, Becky (Mike) Pickard, Jane (Aaron) Walton; 21 Grandchildren; 18 Great-Grandchildren; sister, Stella (Stan) Welsh; brother, Ira (Janice) Tree. We will all miss David and know that we will be reunited with him. Place of Birth:Wanship, UtahPlace of Death:West Jordan, UtahHobbies:He loved BYU; gardening; loved cookies and chocolate chips; campingOccupation:College Professor/Mechanical Engineering