David Woodruff Cobia

I David Woodruff Cobia, 89, died 12/21/23 due to pancreatic cancer. I am writing my own obituary because other people give me undeserved credit and visa versa. To paraphrase another obituary, by now you know something I don’t know and that is how I died and I know something you don’t know and that is what it is like to be dead. Family: My deceased parents are Rhoda Woodruff and Richard Seth Cobia; wife Patricia Claire Smith (who really really loved me); children: LeeAnn Klemetson and her husband Richard, Richard Scott Cobia and his wife Tiffany, Kathy Jacobson and her husband David; with 16 grandchildren and 20 great grand children. Funeral services, and I feel these are very important gatherings, will be held Saturday,12/30/23 at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1038 N 1200 E, Provo, UT 84604. I take great pleasure in being born in Cardston, Alberta, Canada. On my 12th birthday our family moved to Moses Lake, Washington where I graduated from high school. I served in the US Army in Korea after a 2 year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the upper Midwest. I graduated from Brigham Young University in 1960, then worked a year in Salt Lake City, UT as a milk marketing specialist. I married Patricia Smith after a 14 day engagement and just before leaving for graduate school to Purdue University where I received my PhD. in Agricultural Economics. Professionally I was a Professor of Ag. Econ at North Dakota State University, with a one year stint on leave at the the USDA in Washington DC & again at BYU in Provo, UT. I served as acting and then interim head of the department, worked with agricultural cooperatives, prepared a college text book, was the director of an endowed program, taught courses and conducted research. I also organized major publications for the sunflower industry. At retirement my wife and I served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Melbourne Australia as the office couple. At the outset we worked so hard that we both lost more than 15 pounds. Some accomplishments and roles I played in high school: FFA chapter, track, and student body president (other people put me up to it). I was also a member of BYU’s track team. Our team was known for its depth, I helped provide the depth. Track helped me overcome my self consciousness about being so skinny. Among the positions I served in for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were Branch President and 1st counselor to the District President as our region prepared for Stakehood. Then I was called as a stake patriarch at the age of 43. I gave 870 blessings ranging in age from 8 to 93. Later I was a temple ordinance worker and later still helped to clean the chapel. I took great delight in family events and greeting folks on the way. I tried to remain physically active. Pat and I enjoyed dancing, especially to New York, New York. I enjoyed the scriptures and sacred music, especially O Devine Redeemer and silly music like The Naughty Lady from Shady Lane. I thoroughly enjoyed demo-ing the 30 tons of 16 grain and 9 grain gluten free pancake mix I made after retiring. The cars I owned ranged from a 1913 Model T Ford when I was 14 years old, to a Tesla Model X at age 84. I was a penny pincher all my life & blew it all on that Tesla. I enjoyed fussing around in the kitchen making a mess. I took great pleasure in playing with little children and listening to teenagers. I was much better at the former than the latter. I enjoy telling other folks about my life and listening to them about theirs, even at the check out counter. My closing off advice is to love God and his children, be honest, eat a wide variety of colors, have fun with family and fellow men. Persist and find joy in keeping the Lord’s commandments and in the end it always pays off. See you soon but not too soon

David Woodruff Cobia

February 25, 1934 - December 21, 2023