David Stamp
July 21, 1936 — June 24, 2022
Dr. David Lee Stamp passed away at the age of 85 years of age. He fought a good fight with strength and grace and left this life with his daughter and son by his side in Hamilton, Montana on June 24th, 2022. David Lee Stamp was the son of Henry “Ted” Stamp and Evelyn (Judd) Stamp and he was the youngest child of four. He was born on July 21, 1936, in Clinton, Iowa. David grew up poor in a neighborhood along the Mississippi River called Frog Hollow. He enjoyed exploring the timbered bottoms, hunting ducks with his brothers and dad and had many fun-filled stories of his childhood. He always said, “I didn’t know I was poor until I went to college.”
He entered into the Reserves and Army in 1960 and was honorably discharged in 1965. On February 23,1963, David was united in marriage to Sandra Lee Maxwell and moved to Ames, Iowa, where he completed graduate school from Iowa State University earning a PhD in Agronomy. While at Iowa State, he met life-long friends and his Alpha Tau Omega fraternity brothers. He went on to be a college professor of Agronomy and taught at three Universities: Iowa State, Oregon State, and Texas Tech. While at Texas Tech he co-authored and published the book “Principles of Field Crop Production” which is still used at colleges today, He then moved into the private sector where he started and ran his own seed corn company, Circle Seed Hybrids. He finished off his career working at Land-O-Lakes.
David and Sandra were blessed with five children: Elizabeth Ann, Matthew Maxwell, Mark David, Sarah Ruth and Rebekah Jean. They had eleven grandchildren; Nathan, Maxwell, Eva, Jacob, Hannah, Evan, Charlie, Harley, Luke, Katie, Andrew; and one great-grandchild Maddison; all of whom they loved to spoil. He considered his children and grandchildren his greatest gift and achievement.
David, aka Buddha, as his friends and family called him, led a full and rich life. He traveled the world for work and pleasure, and he never met a stranger. He looked at each new destination and person he met as a new opportunity to learn and grow. He enjoyed everything life had to offer- especially cooking ribs, writing poetry, telling stories, and of course, hunting ducks and geese. He was a very intelligent and positive person, and he loved everything about life. He loved the ups and downs. It was easy to see the passion in his tears anytime he had to say “good-bye”.
Most of all David was an amazing father. He taught his children to always reach for the stars, take risks, dream, and enjoy every moment in life. He had a saying that explained how he looked at life: “some people walk in the rain and others just get wet.” Our dad walked in the rain. He will continue to walk in the rain every time we think about the wonderful memories we have of Buddah, every time we see a flock of geese or ducks flying overhead, every time we see a sunrise or sunset, every time we enjoy a German breakfast for dinner and the list goes on.
As our dad once wrote in a poem: I Ain’t Gonna Die -
Just Gonna Quit Being there
Now that makes me feel better
We Love You Dad!
In addition to his parents, David is preceded in death by his wife, Sandra; siblings Lois, Don and Gerald; grandson, Nathan Morgan and great-nephew Ted Stamp. He is survived by his children: Elizabeth Stamp and Mark Dirks of Denison, Iowa; twins, Matthew Stamp and his wife Kimberly of Elk Horn, Nebraska and Mark Stamp of Tampa, Florida; Sarah and her husband Dave Wiebers of Denison, Iowa and Rebekah Stamp and her husband Peter Frederick of Hamilton, Montana; ten grandchildren; one great grand-chlild; special relatives, Harleane Stamp, Alice Butler, Scott Stamp, Susan Reckman, Don Stamp, David Stamp, and Karen Stamp-Vanroosenbeek; other relatives and friends.
He entered into the Reserves and Army in 1960 and was honorably discharged in 1965. On February 23,1963, David was united in marriage to Sandra Lee Maxwell and moved to Ames, Iowa, where he completed graduate school from Iowa State University earning a PhD in Agronomy. While at Iowa State, he met life-long friends and his Alpha Tau Omega fraternity brothers. He went on to be a college professor of Agronomy and taught at three Universities: Iowa State, Oregon State, and Texas Tech. While at Texas Tech he co-authored and published the book “Principles of Field Crop Production” which is still used at colleges today, He then moved into the private sector where he started and ran his own seed corn company, Circle Seed Hybrids. He finished off his career working at Land-O-Lakes.
David and Sandra were blessed with five children: Elizabeth Ann, Matthew Maxwell, Mark David, Sarah Ruth and Rebekah Jean. They had eleven grandchildren; Nathan, Maxwell, Eva, Jacob, Hannah, Evan, Charlie, Harley, Luke, Katie, Andrew; and one great-grandchild Maddison; all of whom they loved to spoil. He considered his children and grandchildren his greatest gift and achievement.
David, aka Buddha, as his friends and family called him, led a full and rich life. He traveled the world for work and pleasure, and he never met a stranger. He looked at each new destination and person he met as a new opportunity to learn and grow. He enjoyed everything life had to offer- especially cooking ribs, writing poetry, telling stories, and of course, hunting ducks and geese. He was a very intelligent and positive person, and he loved everything about life. He loved the ups and downs. It was easy to see the passion in his tears anytime he had to say “good-bye”.
Most of all David was an amazing father. He taught his children to always reach for the stars, take risks, dream, and enjoy every moment in life. He had a saying that explained how he looked at life: “some people walk in the rain and others just get wet.” Our dad walked in the rain. He will continue to walk in the rain every time we think about the wonderful memories we have of Buddah, every time we see a flock of geese or ducks flying overhead, every time we see a sunrise or sunset, every time we enjoy a German breakfast for dinner and the list goes on.
As our dad once wrote in a poem: I Ain’t Gonna Die -
Just Gonna Quit Being there
Now that makes me feel better
We Love You Dad!
In addition to his parents, David is preceded in death by his wife, Sandra; siblings Lois, Don and Gerald; grandson, Nathan Morgan and great-nephew Ted Stamp. He is survived by his children: Elizabeth Stamp and Mark Dirks of Denison, Iowa; twins, Matthew Stamp and his wife Kimberly of Elk Horn, Nebraska and Mark Stamp of Tampa, Florida; Sarah and her husband Dave Wiebers of Denison, Iowa and Rebekah Stamp and her husband Peter Frederick of Hamilton, Montana; ten grandchildren; one great grand-chlild; special relatives, Harleane Stamp, Alice Butler, Scott Stamp, Susan Reckman, Don Stamp, David Stamp, and Karen Stamp-Vanroosenbeek; other relatives and friends.
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