David Gerald Wellington was born on August 18, 1948, in Sac City, Iowa, to Gerald “Tuffy” and Glenrose “Rosie” (Hoff) Wellington. He graduated from Sac City High School in 1966, where he met Charlotte (Wright), who would later become his wife. They married in August 1968 while Dave was home on leave from the United States Marine Corps. Shortly after, he deployed to Vietnam and served honorably for six years. Dave served as a recon Marine, one of the toughest jobs in the military, although he rarely spoke of it. Dave was humble and kind.

Dave began his professional career with Otto Culvers in Sac City and later relocated with the company to Storm Lake, Iowa. He served as a deacon at the Church of Christ, volunteered as a firefighter, and enjoyed training and competing with his bird dogs. Their daughter, Kimberly, was born during this time. Seeking new opportunities, Dave joined Malone/Iverson Architects in Sheridan, Wyoming, and welcomed their son, Matthew. The family quickly grew to love the Big Horn Mountains. Dave especially enjoyed hunting, fishing, camping and cutting firewood — always fond of the saying, “Those who cut their own firewood get warm twice.”

The family next moved to Rapid City, South Dakota, where Dave worked for Lund Associates and began coaching Matthew’s baseball teams. They later returned to Wyoming, settling in Casper, where Dave worked for Gorder | South Group. By then, Kimberly and Matthew had graduated from Natrona County High School and were beginning their own careers and families. With their children grown, Dave and Char made their final move to Cody, Wyoming. In Cody, Dave joined Plan One Architects. Due to his considerable experience and knowledge, Dave soon became a partner in the firm.

Dave was the project lead for the new Sunset Elementary School in Cody. This was an innovative design that featured distributed media, multiple teacher collaboration spaces, small and large break-out areas, and grade-level wings, each with their own central commons. This design was so successful that it was requested to be built again by the Buffalo and Ranchester school districts. Dave was also the project lead for the new Greybull Elementary School, the first LEED-certified school in Wyoming.

In addition to the projects he was responsible for, Dave was also the senior specifications writer for the Cody office. Not everyone can be a spec writer. You have to be knowledgeable, detailed and accurate. Dave was all of these. In his role as spec writer, he was essentially involved with every project that came out of the Cody office during his tenure. Over his 43-year career in architecture, Dave was known for his integrity, dedication and the lasting impact of his work throughout the region.

He is survived by his wife, Charlotte; children Kimberly (Sam) Hughes and Matthew (Dona) Wellington; grandchildren Madelyn Hughes, Johnathan (Kallie) Wellington, Dylan Wellington and Allison Hughes; siblings Jan (Bill) Connell and Nancy (Steve) Full; and sister-in-law Annette Wellington.