David George Crist passed away peacefully on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016, in Show Low. Private family services will be held, with interment at National Memorial Cemetery in Cave Creek. He was born Dec. 13, 1938, in Orange, Calif., grew up in Yorba Linda, Calif., and moved to Somerton in 1960. David attended Fullerton Junior College and Cal-Poly University in San Dimas, Calif., and was an instructor of citrus horticulture at Arizona Western College. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army Medical Unit at Fort Detrick, Md., owner of Crist Citrus Care, Inc., citrus farmer in Yuma for 45 years, operations manager for Kimball Toppers, Inc. and Washburn and Sons, past president of the Unit B Irrigation and Drainage District and the Natural Resources Conservation District, representative on the Sunkist Citrus Exchange, 4-H leader, Arizona Hunter and Safety instructor, and an avid hunter and fisherman. He retired to Overgaard in 2005. Survivors include his wife of 55 years, Rosalyn Joy; his sons, Randall David Crist and spouse Donna, and Scott Michael Crist and spouse Pam; his granddaughters, Brittni and spouse David Blanas, Brooke and spouse Brandon Pike, Logan Crist and Hayden Crist, and grandson Hunter Crist; great-grandsons Ryder Crist, Ryatt Blanas and Kallum Pike; and sisters-in-law Sheryl Strout and spouse Ken, and Wilma L. Crist. He was preceded in death by his father, David Eby Crist; his mother, Olive Edmee Crist Stahl; and his brother, Gary Carl Crist. Silver Creek Mortuary of Taylor was in charge of the arrangements.
