Professor Emeritus David William Krueger Obituary (1935

Professor Emeritus David William Krueger Live Stream Will Begin at 1:00 PM, Friday, June 23rd, 2017 http://www.ustream.tv/channel/humphrey-funeral-service-inc Professor Emeritus David William Krueger graduated with honors on the 18th of June, anno Domini 2017, when he entered into the courts of the most High, joining his beloved Beth only 16 days after her departure. David was born on April 11, 1935, in Jackson, Mo. to Walter C. Krueger and Flora M. (Schoen) Krueger. Mr. Krueger married Beth Warndof Salassi, the daughter of C. R. Warndof, who was the head of the Engineering Department at Tech. They were married on Oct. 10, 1969. David graduated from Memphis State University, now the University of Memphis, with a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Arts degree in history. He worked for almost five years at Loew's State Theatre in downtown Memphis, for what he called "survival money for education expenses." During his years at the theater, he actually knew Elvis, who had also worked at the State before he became famous. Following graduation, Mr. Krueger spent two years working on his doctorate at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, where he completed all required coursework and passed foreign language examinations in French and German. While visiting his parents in Memphis in the summer of 1960, Mr. Krueger received an invitation from the Head of the History Department at Arkansas Tech to come to Russellville for a job interview. He had not applied to the department for a position and he didn't even know exactly where Russellville was. While in Russellville, Mr. Krueger met Dr. Carleton Curran, the Head of the History Department, Dr. Kenneth Walker, who was Assistant to the Dean, Dr. P. K. Merrill, the Chairman of the Social Studies Division, and Dean Alfred Crabaugh. They told Mr. Krueger that the position in the Department would be permanent if they "liked what they saw" and if he "liked what he saw." As a result, Mr. Krueger stated "The career I had at Arkansas Tech was magnificent and I enjoyed it from the time I first came over. I wasn't that familiar with where Russellville was, but I had heard of Arkansas Tech. I went to Memphis State, and Memphis State played Arkansas Tech in a football game. They beat Tech 18-6. Nobody could kick an extra point." During his half-century at Arkansas Tech, Krueger served under four presidents Joseph W. Hull, Dr. George L. B. Pratt, Dr. Kenneth Kersh and Dr. Robert C. Brown and he saw the name of the school change from Arkansas Polytechnic College to Arkansas Tech University. By the time Krueger retired in 2010, he had seen enrollment at Arkansas Tech increase by more than 500 percent. One of just three individuals to serve on the ATU faculty for 50 or more years, Krueger was voted professor of the year by the Arkansas Tech student body four times. In 1996, Mr. Krueger received the first award given by Arkansas Tech for Excellence in Teaching. In 2000, 2004 and 2009 the Student Government Association once again voted him Professor of the Year at Arkansas Tech, sharing that honor with Professor Thomas Pennington in 2004. In addition, he was inducted as an honorary member of Phi Eta Sigma, the National Honor Society at Tech in 2000. Over the years, Mr. Krueger has served on various university and department committees. In addition, he also serves as a Co-Sponsor of the Tech chapter of the Phi Alpha Theta History Honorary. Professor Krueger has published articles in the department's occasional papers, numerous book reviews in the World History Bulletin, and contributed a biography of Lord Nelson to Salem Press for its work on Great Lives from History series. Through the efforts of Dr. H. Micheal Tarver, Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, Arkansas Tech recognized Krueger's contributions to the university in 2010 when the annual David W. Krueger History Symposium and Lecture Series was established in his honor through a donation by Dr. Diane Gleason to the University Foundation. In 2015, Krueger received the honorary title of Professor Emeritus of History from the Tech Board of Trustees. "David served the university and the history department for 50 years, and in that time he became one of the most respected and beloved figures in the history of the institution," wrote Dr. Thomas A. DeBlack, professor of history at Arkansas Tech, in one of the letters supporting Krueger's nomination for emeritus status in 2015. "He is remembered fondly by several generations of students. In my 20 years at Tech, I have never heard anyone say an unkind word about David Krueger, and I have never heard him say an unkind word about anyone else. If anyone ever deserved emeritus status, that person is David Krueger." In 2016, ATU presented Krueger with its highest honor when he was inducted into the Arkansas Tech Hall of Distinction. David is preceded by his wife of 47 years, Beth Krueger; and his parents. He is survived by his son, Karl Krueger; his brother, Harold Krueger and his wife, Ginger; step children, Jeri Netherland, Jeni Salassi, George Salassi and his wife Vicki, Beth Jones and her husband, Mark; four grandchildren, Rose Netherland, Katy Munna, Jacob Salassi and Sam Jones and three great-grandchildren. Friends are welcome to pay their respects to David in The State Room at Humphrey Funeral Service from 1-4 p.m. on Thursday, June 22, 2017. The family will receive friends from 1 p.m. until the service time at the funeral home. Funeral service will be at 2 p.m. Friday, June 23, 2017 at Humphrey Chapel in Russellville. Burial will be at Oakland Cemetery by Humphrey Funeral Service. Rev. Don Erwin will officiate. Pallbearers are Johnny Boyd, Roger Acosta, Michael Allinson, Michael Boyd, Peter Dykema and Mark Jones. Honorary pallbearers are the faculty of the Arkansas Tech University History and Political Science Department. Memorials may be made to Friendship Community Care in Russellville.