David Bates Vetter

David Bates Vetter, 84, of Urbandale, Iowa, passed away on Tuesday, September 21, 2021, at Deerfield Retirement Community in Urbandale. Dave was born to Frank S. and Margaret A. Vetter on November 4, 1936, in Waukon, Iowa, later moving with his family to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he grew up. After graduating from McKinley High School in 1954, Dave attended Stanford University before transferring to the University of Iowa, where, as a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity, he earned a degree in Business Administration in 1958. He then joined the family lumber business, Vetter-May Lumber, overseeing operations at the Stanwood, Iowa location. During this time Dave married Carole A. Prather, the mother of his two sons, Jim and Joe.

Dave had studied the clarinet from an early age, and after three years in the lumber business his passion for music was too much to overcome, so he and Carole packed up and headed for New York City. There Dave attended the Mannes College of Music, earning a second degree, Bachelor of Music in clarinet, in 1968. In 1972, he and his family moved to City Island in the Bronx, which would remain Dave’s beloved home for nearly 50 years. While Dave and Carole divorced in the mid-1990s, they remained friends.

Upon graduation from Mannes, Dave began a career in music education, teaching high school band at several schools within the New York City education system until his retirement in 1993. While Dave’s formal career was in teaching, his musical life didn’t end there. Over the years he regularly performed with and led numerous jazz and concert bands throughout the New York area, and was admired by fellow musicians for his mastery of the saxophone, clarinet, and flute. Dave passed on his love of music to his sons and grandchildren.

Dave also had many hobbies. He was an avid swimmer, swimming daily in the Long Island Sound (with a memorable cameo in the movie “City Island”), and a passionate gardener. Upon retiring from teaching, Dave turned his love of gardening into a second career with the New York Botanical Garden, where he worked in the Family Garden for nearly 25 years.

Dave’s life was defined above all by an unwavering devotion to his family and steadfast loyalty to his friends. As one longtime friend said, speaking for so many, “Everyone liked Dave.” He will be remembered by all who knew him for his overwhelming kindness and generosity.

Dave is survived by his sons, James D. Vetter (Marcia) of Urbandale, Iowa, and Joseph K. Vetter (Lisa) of Bethesda, Maryland; sisters, Peggy Parks (Frank, deceased) of Denver, Colorado, and Martha Vetter of City Island, New York; granddaughters, Rachel Davis (Tim), Kirsten Gannon (Dan), and Emily Vetter, all of the greater Des Moines area; and nine great-grandchildren, three nieces, and one nephew.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, September 30, 2021, at Hamilton’s on Westown Parkway, 3601 Westown Parkway in West Des Moines, with visitation held one hour prior to service time. The service will be live streamed. Burial will follow at Cedar Memorial Cemetery in Cedar Rapids.

Memorial contributions may be directed to the family to be designated to the Mannes College of Music and New York Botanical Garden.

Online condolences may be expressed at www.HamiltonsFuneralHome.com.

Print