David Edwin Witt Jr., 61, of Puyallup, Washington, passed away peacefully at home on May 12, 2026. Born on August 26, 1964, and raised in Middletown, Ohio, David carried his Ohio roots with him through every chapter of a life lived fully and with purpose.

A man of quiet faith and deep conviction, David was different things to different people — and that was perhaps his greatest gift. To his wife Julie, he was a partner and an adventurer, someone who could find joy equally on a mountain trail or beside a campfire. To his daughters Alivia and Lynnea, he was a father who showed them the beauty of the outdoors and the importance of showing up — teaching Alivia to play guitar and share his love of sports, and making sure Lynnea always had a special meal made just for her. To his students and athletes at Kalles Junior High, he was the teacher who made history come alive and the coach who showed up every day with humor and heart. To his friends, he was the guy at the center of the kitchen — generous with a meal, free with his opinions, and beloved for both.

David answered his country's call straight out of high school, enlisting in the United States Army. After completing basic training, he was stationed in Germany, an experience that surely deepened his lifelong fascination with history and the world beyond his front door. After his service, he earned his college degree and eventually a master's degree, building a career first in hospitality, then in information technology as a business analyst — work that brought him from Ohio to the Pacific Northwest, where he would ultimately plant the deepest roots of his life.

It was in the classroom where David found his true calling. As a Social Studies teacher at Kalles Junior High, he taught seventh and eighth graders with a style that was equal parts funny and laid back. He coached football, basketball, and track, pouring himself into young people not just as athletes but as human beings.

Away from school, David was an outdoorsman through and through. Fishing was a true passion — the kind of thing best done slowly, in good company, with nowhere else to be. He also loved to hike and camp with his family and could occasionally be found on a golf course. That same spirit of generosity extended to the kitchen, where David was a talented cook who loved nothing more than sharing the experience — pulling friends in alongside him and turning a meal into a memory.

He played guitar with a genuine love for the instrument, sharing that gift beyond his living room — performing at school assemblies and, for a time, playing with his church's worship band. Music, like so much else in David's life, was something he gave away freely.

He loved Ken Burns documentaries and Band of Brothers, and he returned again and again to J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings — a story he loved deeply, perhaps because, like its author, David was a man of Christian faith who understood that the greatest stories are really about courage, sacrifice, and the enduring power of hope. The books on his nightstand at the time of his passing — Battle Cry of Freedom, With the Old Breed, and The Lord of the Rings — speak volumes about a man who never stopped trying to understand the human experience.

David is survived by his wife, Julie; his daughters, Alivia and Lynnea; his mother, Donna Adams; his stepfather, Steven Adams; his sister, Tammy Ihle and her husband Ted Ihle. He was preceded in death by his father, David Edwin Witt Sr.

He will be deeply missed by all who had the privilege of knowing him.

"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us." — J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring