Dr. David W. Suter

"To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower, 
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour."
- William Blake ("Auguries of Innocence")

Dr. David Winston Suter, 82, of Puyallup, Washington, passed away on Thursday, June 20, 2024.

He was born in Staunton, Virginia, on March 1, 1942, to the late Beverly Wills Suter and Sarah Frances (Anderson) Suter, sharing a childhood with his four younger sisters filled with happy memories that stayed with him through all of his days.

After graduating from Robert E. Lee High School in Staunton in 1960, he received his Bachelor of Arts in philosophy (1964) at Davidson College, followed by studies at the Divinity School at the University of Chicago, where he received his Bachelor of Divinity (1967), Master of Arts (1970), and Doctor of Philosophy (1977) degrees, and he was ordained to ministry in the Presbyterian Church (United States of America) in 1967. His future scholarly interests were already present in his dissertation, “Tradition and Composition in the Parables of Enoch.”

An Old Testament scholar and theologian, David first worked as a Professor of Religion at Wichita State University from 1977 to 1983. During this time, David was married to Kristine Ann Pearson on June 21, 1978, becoming stepfather to her two sons, Aron and Nathan. Their daughter, Jessica, was born almost two years later.

In 1983, David relocated his family to Tacoma, Washington, where he took a teaching position at Pacific Lutheran University. In 1984 he was hired at St. Martin’s College (now St. Martin’s University) in Lacey, Washington, where he became head of the Department of Religion and Dean of Humanities in 1991. David continued at St. Martin’s until his retirement in 2015. David also served as the pastor of Longbranch Community Church in Key Peninsula, Washington, from 1986 to 1989.

David was actively involved in the Society of Biblical Literature, which enabled him to participate in expeditions to Jerusalem, the caves of Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, and the foot of Mount Herman in Dan where the group discovered the ruins of the Sanctuary of the Northern Tribes, including the throne where the King of the Northern Tribes sat and judged the people. This travel in pursuit of his scholarship also allowed him to engage in one of his favorite hobbies, photography, documenting these trips with beautiful photos to share with family and friends.

David’s primary scholarly interest was the Book of Enoch. His dissertation involved translating an Ethiopian copy of the Book of Enoch written in Aramaic into English and then using this translation to study and analyze the text. From 2005 to 2019, he was a member of the Enoch Seminar, an academic group of international specialists in Second Temple Judaism and the origins of Christianity, who biennially meet in Naples, Italy to share information about their work and discuss topics of common interest. David presented at these seminars and contributed to the joint publications.

Many of his childhood interests brought joy to him throughout his life as well. The electric train set he was so proud of in his youth led to him years later soothing his baby daughter to sleep by running his trains, headlights lit, in a darkened room. And when her child was a toddler, David enjoyed sharing his hobby with yet another generation.

David was a lifelong lover of music. As a young boy, he was first introduced to music when he and his family lived with his Grandmother Suter who owned and played the piano. Growing up, David took piano lessons, played the euphonium in high school and college, and became proficient with the soprano, alto, and tenor recorders at the University of Chicago where he was President of the Recorder Society.

Poetry and literature were also very important to him, a love that he passed on to his daughter, reading aloud to her often up until she left for college. He wrote poetry as well, which appeared in a St. Martin’s publication. The lines he memorized from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales in high school stayed with him all his life.

David also loved the outdoors. Growing up in Virginia he loved camping, fishing the stresuams of the Shenandoah Valley and hiking the trails in the Blue Ridge Mountains. When he moved to the West Coast, he took his family to live on Puget Sound outside of Tacoma where he enjoyed clamming and crabbing with his family, as well as trips to the ocean beaches and the slopes of Mt. Rainier.

David is survived by his wife, Kristine Ann Pearson; their daughter, Jessica Eden (Suter) Petersen (Chris); his stepsons, Aron Mathew Bohlig (Maria) and Nathan Meade Bohlig (Andrea); his grandchildren, Kenneth Anders Petersen and Signe, Halle, Aurora and Thor Bohlig; his sisters, Rebecca Suter Lindsay (William), Betty Suter Feldman, Martha Suter Livingston (Chris), and Sarah Suter Splaun (Donald); his cousins, Edwin B. Roller (Sandy), Robert L Giannini (Patricia), Deane Suter Begiebing (Mark), Cary Carr Suter; and his nieces and nephews.

A Celebration of Life service and inurnment will be held at Pleasant View Lutheran Church Cemetery in Staunton at 11:00 AM on Saturday, September 26, 2026.