David Fielder

David Gould Fielder, 96, passed away on January 11, 2025. Born in Potsdam, NY in 1928 to Rena (Morse) & Walter G. Fielder, Dave grew up in Syracuse, NY, graduating from Nottingham High School. He earned a civil engineering degree from Cornell also qualifying for ROTC. He met Nancy Dombo during college; they married in 1951. Shortly afterwards they moved to Fairbanks, Alaska, where Dave was a First Lieutenant in the Air Force. They moved to New Haven, CT after his discharge in 1953 where he earned a Masters degree in traffic management and design at Yale, then moved to New York City to work for AAA. Other traffic engineering opportunities took him to Houston, TX and Pittsburgh, PA, where he was a District Traffic Engineer. In 1967, he began work in Akron, OH, as the first trained City Traffic Engineer, a position he held until he retired in 1990. David worked for four mayors during that time.

In 1986, David married Sarah Wright. He and Sarah moved to Turkeyfoot Island where he flourished - sailing his several boats, walking through the woods, taking on the job of island historian, serving as a trustee, taking photographs of island wildlife, and getting involved with local organizations including the Friends of the Library and the Portage Lakes Historical Society. Other organizations David was a member of for many years were various church choirs and the Kiwanis.

David was a voracious reader of newspapers, magazines, and mysteries. He also spent many hours researching his family genealogy committing it all to his computer and eventually travelling to visit Fielder cousins in the United States and Great Britain.

Always an avid wood worker, David designed many inventive wooden toys for his kids which were the envy of the neighborhood. In addition to toys, he built bookshelves, a Japanese screen, a quilting table, and string art.

David and Sarah moved to Concordia at Sumner, where several friends were already in residence. David wrote for their local newsletter, got more involved in photography, turning these talents with his love of history to organize the Concordia archives. He also had more time to visit his grandchildren.

Preceded in death by his older brother Donald, David is survived by his wife Sarah Wright, four children and three stepchildren, 8 grandchildren, one great-grandchild, and his sister Mary Louise Murphy.

A local service will be held at Concordia at Sumner at a later date with a private family memorial service to be held in the Spring.

In lieu of flowers his family encourages donations to organizations that benefit the environment, or children or veterans with health needs.