Dale E. Showalter

Dale Showalter passed away peacefully on Wednesday, October 16, 2013. He was the youngest of 6 boys born on May 2, 1926, in the small farm town of Olathe, Colorado to Mary and Clay Showalter.

After Dale graduated from Olathe High School in 1944 at 18, Dale followed his older brothers enlisting in the Army Air Corps. In 1946 he left the Air Force to enroll at Colorado State University. He married Barbara Fisher, also of Olathe, on December 28, 1948.

He was graduated in 1950 with a Bachelors of Science in Mathematics. His first job, working to understand the newly developed nuclear energy at Los Alamos National Laboratories in New Mexico, required moving to Albuquerque from Fort Collins, Colorado. Salvaging an axle and wheels from an old Model T, Dale built a wooden trailer, packed all of the couples belongings in this home made trailer and towed it south. In that first job, he traveled from White Sands, New Mexico to Oak Ridge, Tennessee to the south sea islands (Bikini Atoll) to measure the effect of the atomic tests.

His first two sons were born in Albuquerque. In 1954 they moved to Livermore, California, where Dale continued testing in atomic and particle physics at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, and where their final son was born. The last stop before moving to Mercer Island in 1961 was Idaho Falls, Idaho in 1956. Dale worked at the Idaho National Laboratory, applying nuclear energy to practical problems.

Throughout the years, Dale passed on to his family his love for water skiing, boating, fishing, Boy Scouts, hiking, and camping. After moving his family to Mercer Island in 1961, Dale started the first of what was to become several successful business ventures. He passed along this entrepreneurial spirit to all of his sons. From the many wise and practical examples he gave them, they each went on to become successful entrepreneurs.

Of Dale’s accomplishments, one of the things he was most proud of was his role in helping the Boeing Commercial Airplane Company navigate the transition from manual design to Computer aided design for the 747, 767 and 757 airplanes.

Dale and Barbara were life-long Presbyterians and members and supporters of the Mercer Island Presbyterian Church for more than 50 years. He is survived by his wife Barbara, his sons and their wives – Mike and Janet, Steve and Becky, Jack and Nicole – plus seven grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at the Mercer Island Presbyterian Church Saturday, November 9, 2013 at 3:00 PM. In line with his sense of gratitude the family requests that rather than flowers, remembrances be made to your favorite charity with a note to the family sharing to whom you have given.