Dave was active in Boy Scouts from a young age, achieving the rank of Life Scout. He attended the 1953 National Jamboree in Irvine CA.
Dave graduated from Washington High School in Fremont, California. He was elected class president his freshman and sophomore years, and was active in basketball, swimming and water polo and was awarded the Bank of America Math & Science Award.
Dave worked on his grandparents’ farms in Bloomingdale, Michigan during summer breaks where his grandfather established Michigan’s first certified corn called Dickerson’s Ups & Downs. It was that experience and his father’s career in animal science teaching & research that spurred his life’s passion for agriculture. After earning a Bachelor of Science degree from University of California, Davis in agricultural science, he married Linda Louise Weber on June 18, 1961.
Dave talked his new wife Linda into serving in the new Peace Corps starting in 1962. Dave and Linda created a research and demonstration farm and medical clinic serving the native Indian population near Lake Titicaca in Peru at 12,500 feet altitude.
Following their Peace Corps adventure, Dave returned to earn a Master’s degree at UC Davis in Education with a focus on Animal Science, Soils, Range Management and Agronomy.
Dave started his career in land-grant university Cooperative Extension service in Erie, PA. He was then promoted to be Extension Unit Leader for Shelby County, IA, where he led programming for 600 4-Hers, formed the first Shelby County pork & beef producer groups and proposed a county-wide water system that was installed to provide safe drinking water for farm families.
A District Sales Manager stint at Funk’s G Seeds brought Dave, Linda and their three children to York, NE in 1976, where he soon opened his own independent “Double D” crop consulting business, helping York County area crop producers maximize their yields and profits from marketing.
Dave co-founded the York County Corn Growers Association in 1982 in what is the USA’s 8th and Nebraska’s top corn producing county. He was elected president of the association for two terms and led the annual publishing of its Corn Book for many years. Dave also co-founded the Nebraska Independent Crop Consultants Association in 1983, which now has 150 members four decades later.
While that is how he made a living, that is not how Dave is remembered. He understood the importance of giving back to the community, especially to youth. While in Harlan IA, he actively volunteered on the City Parks & Rec Board to create seven baseball diamonds that serve the community to this day.
In York, Dave renewed his involvement with Boy Scouts, serving 35 years as chairman for Troop 174. It was a point of pride for him that the troop nurtured 86 Eagle Scouts, many times the national average for a troop of that size.
Dave was a York Lions Club member for over 40 years, serving as President three times. He was active in church wherever he lived, most recently since 1976 at First Presbyterian Church of York where he served on the Board of Trustees, Session and as a Youth Group Leader.
Never one to shy from a challenge, Dave served as one of the founding, self-taught coaches for York’s first soccer teams. And in “retirement”, Dave added a new service activity, serving 15 years as volunteer member of the York County Drug & Alcohol Task Force.
Dave’s passions in his free time included financial investing, fishing, camping, boating, golf, Collie dogs, gardening, doing internet research for Peace Corps volunteers around the world, remodeling his historic 1900 farmhouse acreage with Linda, and taking his kids to 4-H camp, on car vacations and to Dickerson family reunions.
Dave is survived by his wife Linda; three children – Amy Dickerson and husband Walter Cordova of Lincoln, NE; Ross Dickerson of Coralville, IA; Bruce Dickerson and wife Carrie of York, NE; five grandchildren – Marvi, Daphnne and Floreana Cordova; Ryan and Sydney Dickerson; and 1 great grandchild – Anthony Cordova.
He is also survived by brothers Alfred (Bud) & wife Pat Dickerson of San Diego, CA; Dean & wife Susan Dickerson of Lincoln, CA; honorary younger brother Ronnie & wife Jane Green of Lincoln, NE; sister-in-law Susan Weber & Edgar Enanoza of Livermore, CA, along with many nieces, nephews and their families.
Dave was preceded in death by his parents, Gordon & Myra Dickerson of Lincoln, NE; brother Malcolm (Mal) & Vera Dickerson of Kintnersville, PA; sister-in-law Jean Dickerson of Sacramento, CA; and niece Dorothea Dickerson of Blacksburg, VA.
In lieu of flowers & plants, the family requests memorial funds go to York Boy Scouts Troop 174 and the York Lions Club.
A celebration of Dave’s life will be held at First Presbyterian Church of York on Monday, Nov 21st at 10 am with an opportunity to share memories of Dave, with fellowship lunch to follow. Graveside service at Greenwood Cemetery in York at 2 pm. Dave’s service will be livestreamed at: www.youtube.com/channel/UCl1ffBwglpCqu7nKkx42SzQ.
Visitation will be held on Sunday from 1-8 pm, with family greeting friends from 2-4 pm at the mortuary.