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David Keir grew up in Hood River, Oregon, and spent much of his life involved in the Oregon and Washington tree fruit industry, including a ten-year stint as an Oregon State University Extension agent in Medford and Coquille. He died on December 7, 2012, at the age of 75.
Keir was born in Hood River and in his early days, helped in the family drugstore business, Keir’s Drugs, which was started by his grandfather in downtown Hood River in 1905. He attended high school in Seattle, Washington, and graduated from Oregon State University in 1962 with degrees in agricultural economics and horticulture. He met his wife, Barbara, when she was teaching at Pine Grove Elementary in 1965, and they were married in 1966.
After serving as an extension agent for ten years, Keir was employed by Cascade Farm Service in Tangent, Oregon; Oregon Occidental Chemical in Yakima, Washigton; and Harry and David in Medford, Oregon. He returned to Hood River in 1979 as fieldman for Underwood Fruit Company in Bingen, Washington. He retired from Underwood in 2000, remaining active in his retirement by working for Del Monte Foods and teaching Master Gardener programs for OSU Extension.
Kerr loved the land and especially the family ranch in Pine Grove, Oregon, where his gardens and orchards were a source of pride, according to an obituary. He enjoyed sharing his bounty with friends and family in the form of boxes of pears and tomatoes.
Survivors include his wife, Barbara, of Hood River, son Paul of Portland, daughter Mary of San Francisco, and a sister.
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