Dr. David Dean Avery passed away with his family by his side and in his home on Friday December 2, 2011. David was born in San Antonio, Texas on October 1, 1941. He was the only child of Glenn Sam and Dorothy Imogene Avery. David graduated from Thomas A. Edison High School in San Antonio, Texas in 1959.  While at Edison, he played football and was the sports editor for the school paper as well as being an honor student. His love of football, camping and fishing began at a very early age. While visiting Colorado with his parents, at the age of nine, he decided that someday he would live in Colorado; in a place he could hunt, fish, camp and enjoy the wildlife and a lifestyle involving the great outdoors. 

     David met Mary L. Watson while in high school and they remained sweethearts from then on. They married in San Antonio, Texas in 1962 and moved to Austin, Texas. From there, they moved to Houston and then to Dallas and finally to Colorado in 1969. David received his B.A in 1963 from the University of Texas, his M.A. in 1966 from University of Houston, and his Ph.D. from the University of Houston in 1969. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas in 1968. David joined the Department of Psychology at ColoradoStateUniversity in Fort Collins in 1969 and he retired from C.S.U. in 2004.  David’s career at Colorado State University was bountiful with publications, textbooks, honors and awards in the field of neuro-physiological psychology.

     David and Mary became good friends with many colleagues and students during his years at C.S.U.  Dave’s life travels involving education, teaching and research endeavors in Texas and Colorado allowed him to meet and enjoy many colleagues, friends and students who shared his passions. He enjoyed science, fishing, camping, hunting, football and golfing with his colleagues and friends. Some of his most memorable times were those spent with the Landers; traveling to the Bridger Wilderness in Wyoming and camping there with our families. Many fun neighborhood parties with the Jensens, the Boyers, the Boltzs, and the Washburns can’t go unmentioned as well as all the fun times at Bruce’s with the Oettings, the Beauvais, the Boyers and the Coles.  During the last few years, Dave and Mary had many fun, memorable trips to Blackhawk with close friends, the Oettings. He loved his time fishing with Doug and Bill and golfing with Gene, Hank, and Jim, as well as hunting with Henry and Don. He made all of the camping trips with family and friends fun and memorable. 

After retiring, Dave continued his love of golf, fishing and gardening. He also spent lots of time developing an exquisite talent of gourmet cooking. He enjoyed preparing extravagant, tasty meals for our family. He was our favorite Texas Bar B Q cooker (in fact he was our favorite cook). He was also our best steak house griller, out best Cajun chef, our best Japanese chop house stir fryer, our best Bayou jambalaya maker and our best gulf coast fish fryer!   Our family enjoyed fresh vegetables from Dave’s huge gardens every summer and throughout the year! From pickled beets to homemade canned salsa- all the ingredients came from his garden. He spent hours out on his property in Masonville; mowing, trimming, planting, growing, raking, digging - all the while enjoying living among the deer, elk, skunks, raccoons, rabbits,  foxes,  coyotes,  bears,  snakes,  bobcats,  owls, bats, and the dozens of different varieties of birds. David truly loved the outdoors. He paid close attention to what type of weather activity we would all experience for the day; rather it be a tornado warning, a blizzard, high wind warnings or just good ole fashion Colorado sunshine. He was our local weather forecaster.      

     Dave will be always be missed and always be remembered for the fun-loving, outdoorsy, outspoken, logical, honest, wonderful husband, father, friend and teacher he was.  Survivors are his loving family: wife, Mary , his son, Matthew  Avery (and Tamara Youngs) of Arvada, Colorado; his daughter, Michelle  Avery (and Joseph Knouse, Jr.) of Loveland;  his close friends of Fort Collins, lifelong friends in Houston, Texas, many cousins, & remaining family in Texas. He is preceded in death by his parents, Glenn and Imogene Avery.  A private family memorial service is being planned. 

Donations in memory of David Dean Avery to the American Cancer Society or PVH Foundation, 2315 E. Harmony Road, Ste. 200, Fort Collins, CO, 80528 (funding for new cancer center in Fort Collins, Colorado) would be appreciated. 

    Our family extends heartfelt thanks and gratitude to the Poudre Valley Hospital Oncology department and to the ICU nurses, aides, technicians, and doctors, as well as  the Cancer Center of the Rockies staff, nurses and doctors. Our family extends a very special thank you to the EMT services of Loveland and Fort Collins and to Pathways Hospice for their kind care and assistance.  We especially thank our friends for their support, kindness, and prayers during our sad journey of Dave's illness and his passing.