David Kliewer

David Kliewer born in 1917 was raised in Montana, one of six children of Mennonite missionaries. His family moved to Oregon and then to Ohio. David was high school valedictorian of his class of 1935. David attended Wheaton College (class of 1939) where he supported himself by doing a variety of jobs including working for the Agricultural Adjustment Act. Kliewer enlisted in the US Marines during WW2 and was imprisoned as a POW in Japan. He returned his Silver Star because he felt so strongly against the war and draft. David went on to Harvard Medical School, where he was hospitalized for months with tuberculosis. There he married Jean Dulin, a 23 year old nurse and together had three children: Jody, David Jr., and Peter. His career consisted of being a physician and a community activist. He had a brief political career and was a leader with Habitat for Humanity. He educated the public about the health hazards of smoking and led the effort to ban smoking in public places in Corvallis, Oregon. He also supported affordable housing in Corvallis and ran the first hospice in Oregon. David and Jean volunteered as teachers in a medical school in Nicaragua. David Kliewer died in 2007 at 90 years old.