David Walter Richter was buried at Graceland Cemetery this past Saturday in a private family service. David Walter Richter, age 81, a Tucson, Ariz. resident since 1957, died peacefully Jan. 31, 2006.

He was preceded by Barbara, his wife of 55 years, in 2003, and his daughter, Karol Jo, in 1977. He is survived by his daughters, Erica and Trudy, his son-in-law, David; grandchildren Kelsey, Kerry, Kristin (Dan), Raul David and Karli; a great-grandson, Tanner; his brother, Jay (Barbara); brothers- and sisters-in-law, Chuck, Joanie, Dick and Joey; and numerous nieces and nephews.

David was born Aug. 22, 1924, in Blue Earth, to Alta and Walter Richter. He grew up in Albert Lea. After serving with the U.S. Army in World War II, where he won the Purple Heart as a veteran of the Battle of the Bulge, he attended the University of Minnesota and graduated with his bachelor’s and law degrees. On Jan. 2, 1948, he married Barbara Gamble and began the private practice of law in Preston, Minn. A few years later they moved to Washington, D.C. where for several years he worked with the Department of Justice.

He and his family moved in 1957 to Tucson, where he set up what would become a deeply respected tax- and estate-planning law practice. He was a lecturer on federal taxation at the University of Arizona and, in 1983, was named one of the country’s top tax attorneys. He was an avid tennis player and traveler. He traveled widely with his wife – from fishing in Mexico and biking in Europe to exploring China and Australia and taking many family trips to Coronado, Hawaii and Minnesota. Blessed with a keen mind and an interest in politics, domestic and foreign affairs, his friends and family warmly remember his sharp, quiet wit and dry sense of humor. Keeping in close contact throughout the years with his war buddies &045; Rice, Bartell and Buckley &045; he always looked forward to their reunions, the most recent of which was in Red Wing last summer. Rice and Bartell joined the family in Albert Lea last Saturday to remember David.

A celebration of David’s life also took place at the Arizona Inn in Tucson on Feb. 20. The family requests that David be remembered with contributions to Humane Borders, c/o Dr. Robin Hoover, First Christian Church, 740 E. Speedway Blvd., Tucson, AZ, 85719.