David Leonard Wiitala Memorial Service

I’m writing a sermon that is 10 minutes long for my uncle Dave’s

Opening Sentence

"I am the Resurrection and the Life," says the Lord. "Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die." (John 11:25–26)

Invocation & Prayer

First Reading: Deuteronomy 31:6

We are going to start today with the verse that Dave’s daughter Demaree read to him and prayed over him in his final days.

Deuteronomy 31:6, “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you."

Eulogy & Reflection

We gather here at the San Clemente Pier—not in a sanctuary with stained glass, but under the open sky, with the sound of waves and the salt air that Dave loved. This is fitting. Because Dave was a man who knew how to meet God in wide-open places.

David Leonard Wiitala was born in Los Angeles on June 7, 1954, named after his father Leonard. He grew up in Palmdale with his siblings—Catherine, Carl, and Neil. Neil is still with us today. Dave's heritage was Finnish, and though his mother tried to teach her children the language, Dave always said he was too stubborn to learn. That stubbornness would serve him well throughout his life—in the Navy, in his career, and in his devotion to the people he loved.

Dave chose a path of service and precision. He joined the Navy and began his training as an electrical engineer aboard the USS Pollack, SSN 603, working in the demanding world of nuclear power. His mind was sharp and disciplined. He didn't just operate nuclear reactors—he helped reinvent the curriculum for training nuclear engineers, attending conventions and teaching others. After his Navy service, Dave worked at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station and later traveled the country as a contractor, advising facilities in Idaho, North Carolina, and New Mexico. But Dave wasn't just an engineer. He and his wife Diedra, Aunt DeeDee were adventurers. They taught all six of their children that love. Davina, who is survived by her daughter Willow, Danae, Davis, Delaney, Demaree and Dakota.

Dave loved the water. He drove to the beach to surf the waves in his Ford Escort listening to the cassettes of the The Beach Boys “Surfin USA” and "California Dreamin'.” , In recent years, he would take his 19-foot center console boat out to Catalina Island in the early morning darkness. Delaney remembered those 3 AM wake-up calls, the hypnotic swell of the waves in the dark ,that made it hard to stay awake, and the thrill of catching rock fish that looked like oversized white goldfish. They'd bring them back to Palmdale, grill them with salt, pepper, and lemon, and taste the relive the vast ocean all over again.

Dave loved the open road. The Wiitala family was always taking adventures. In 2004, Dave, DeeDee and his kids took an epic long road trip across the United States. From Big Creek, CA they headed through South Dakota to see Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse, up through Wisconsin into Canada to Niagara Falls, then down to New York and Rhode Island, before finally returning home.

Dave made a wonderful homemade chili. He loved the mountains. Fishing. Hunting. Skiing. For a few years, Dave serve his community by volunteering to lead the Big Creek fire department.

Dave's kids remember a father who showed them the world—who woke them before dawn, who taught them to be brave, who modeled strength and service. In his final days, Demaree spoke Scripture over her father. She prayed Deuteronomy 31:6 and Isaiah 49:15–16 over him—reminders that God would not leave him or forsake him, in the way God has engraved us on the palms of His hands.

Dave knew what it meant to be held by God.

In John's Gospel, Jesus doesn't say, "I will be the resurrection someday." He says, "I am the Resurrection and the Life." That promise is not for the distant future. It is for this moment—for your grief, your questions, your longing.

Davis, Danae, Delaney, Demaree—and Willow, his granddaughter, and Neil, his brother— today is a day to remember. Remember the good of what your dad gave you. Remember you don’t have to bear burdens of the past or take them into your future. And remember, just like God was with your dad to the end as he went to his eternal home. God is with you everyday.

The same God who steadied your father in the early morning hours of dark Pacific swells, who gave him courage to serve on a submarine beneath the ocean and work at a nucleur power plant, who walked with him through years of teaching and traveling and loving you—that same God has welcomed your dad, Dave, home.

Jesus does not abandon us in death. He meets us there. He died that we may live.

Committal

In sure and certain hope of the Resurrection and eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, we commend to Almighty God our father, uncle, brother and friend: David Leonard Wiitala.

Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust;

the Lord bless and keep him, the Lord make his face to shine upon him, and give him peace. Amen.

Hymn: "Amazing Grace"

(sung or spoken)

Amazing grace! how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved; how precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed.

When we've been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we've no less days to sing God's praise than when we'd first begun.

Prayers for the Family

Let us pray.

God of compassion, be near to Davis, Danae, Delaney, Demaree, Willow, and Neil. Give them strength for today, courage for tomorrow, and peace that comes from knowing your abiding presence.

Hold them in your love, now and always. Amen.

Blessing

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen.