William David Mohr

William David “Dave” Mohr Aug. 23, 1928 - Feb. 1, 2020 Dave Mohr, 91, of Benton Harbor passed away peacefully on Saturday, February 1st, 2020 at Hanson House. Dave was born August 23, 1928 in South Haven, Michigan where he grew up. The son of LC Mohr, the Superintendent of Schools, and Mabel Wegner Mohr, a teacher, Dave graduated from South Haven High School and earned his bachelors, masters and doctorate degrees in Chemical Engineering from MIT, where he was in Army ROTC, played tenor sax and sang in the men's octet, the Logarhythms. After college he served in the US Army’s Chemical Corps during the Korean War, though he was never deployed to Korea. After discharge, Dave went to work at DuPont where a colleague and his wife introduced Dave to Elizabeth (Liz) Heaton. Within a year Dave and Liz were married and were blessed with 60 years together. Soon after they were married, Dave and Liz moved back to Southwestern Michigan to start their family and a couple of businesses — Instracon and Die-Cast Electronics. Both businesses helped area industry install and maintain electronic instruments and control systems. Dave’s efforts helped his clients use new technologies, remain competitive and keep jobs in Southwestern Michigan. Dave was a devoted and loving husband and father supporting his wife and kids in all their pursuits and encouraging them to “do their own thing”. He was generous with his time and loved helping others build or fix things and advance their ideas and passions. He had a brilliant mind, loved all puzzles, and did extensive research on an alternative approach to musical tuning known as Just Intonation. Friday lunches were at DiMaggio’s staying connected with a group of old friends and their faithful waitress. Dave believed deeply in the teachings of Jesus Christ. He was for many years an active member of the First Congregational Church of Benton Harbor where he sang in the choir and taught Sunday school. In later years, Dave and Liz were welcomed into the congregation at the First Congregational Church of St. Joe, and Dave greatly enjoyed singing in the choir there. In addition to church choirs, Dave’s love of singing was expressed in barbershop quartet groups. He sang with the local chorus for 40+ years and with many quartets, including most recently his dear friends, the Kor Vets. Dave lived in Southwestern Michigan for all but 14 of his 91+ years, and his love of Lake Michigan, its beaches and the area’s produce was profound. Peaches, red and black raspberries, and blackberries were his favorite fruits, while Liz’s cherry pie and blackberry flummery were his favorite desserts. Dave was preceded in death by his parents, his stepmother, Louisa Durham, his brother C. Michael (Mike) Mohr, a niece, Christine, and a granddaughter, Elizabeth. He is survived by his wife, Liz, his sons, Bill (Carol) and Ed (Geri), daughter, Liz/Betsy, niece, Martha, grandchildren, Maggie (Mark), Nick, Lily and Lexie, and great grandson, David. Remember Dave by enjoying time with family, savoring a fruit pie, and singing, especially singing in harmony with others. In lieu of flowers, donations in Dave’s memory may be made to the C. Michael Mohr (1955) Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) Fund at MIT, 600 Memorial Drive, W98 2nd Floor, Cambridge, MA 02139 (Fund ID: 3159180), or the Humane Society of Southwestern Michigan, 5400 S. Niles Road, St. Joseph, MI, 49085. A memorial service will be announced at a later date at the First Congregational Church of St. Joseph. Those wishing to sign Dave’s Memory Book online may do so at www.starks-menchinger.com.