David Muehrcke

Born to Paul and Katherine Muehrcke of Gwinn Michigan on April 16, 1939.

After graduating from Gwinn High School in 1957 he went on to Northern Michigan University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology in 1962 and a Master of Arts in Education in 1966.

He spent his professional life teaching biological sciences in Clio High School (Clio, Michigan). When he retired in 1997 he was head of the Science Department at the school. But the urge to learn and teach was in his blood and stayed with him in retirement until he slowly lost his mind to the fog of dementia.

David loved all aspects of outdoor life, including gardening, grafting, hiking, birding, camping, canoeing, traveling and hunting. Whatever he did he pursued with great focus and intensity. But all who knew him would agree that fishing was his special expertise. Although he fished all species with a passion, trout and salmon were his main focus. Indeed, he was able to spend a decade of summers on famous Alaskan rivers teaching clients how to catch 30-40 pound Chinook salmon on a fly rod. And he did it using special flies he designed and tied himself.

David is survived by his sister Mary Virginia Ball (Gladstone), his brothers Phillip (Madison, WI), John and Burt (Gwinn, MI), his nieces (Andrea Nelson, Marti Potter and Kathy Korhonen) and nephews (Gerald and Steven Ball).

David was a special person who will leave a void in this world. His family and friends will gather at a later date to say a private goodbye.