David Ashley Tillman

Obituary David Ashley Tillman, born on February 24th 1944 in Hartford, CT passed away on August 9th, 2020 in Peoria,AZ. David is survived by his son and daughter in law, Darek and Dianne Tillman. He also was the proud grandfather of Trevar and Taylar Tillman. He leaves behind his sister Susan Cahee. David joins his wife of 30 years, Mildred Tillman, to be with our lord. David preferred to be called "Dave", and so will be for the reminder of this passage. Dave lead a very accomplished and interesting life. He was raised in rural New England and attended the University of New Hampshire where to the surprise of many of his friends, he majored in social work. He eventually made his way to Washington DC, working in the famous Watergate building. This is where he would meet Millie, the love of his life. From there he moved his family to Seattle to pursue his doctorate from the University of Washington. Ever the humble man, he did not like being referred to as "doctor". He would always say "I'm Dave". This launched his career in the world of combustion, becoming renowned in his field of combustion and power generation. He received many awards and accolades, including the prestigious Alex Dow award from Detroit Edison. Dave authored and co-authored over two dozen books. His son was surprised to find several of his books in the Northern Arizona library where Darek was a student. Dave was an avid dog lover and advocate. He raised several dogs throughout his life and even rescued a couple of St. Bernards. If there were dogs nearby, you could bet they would find him and they would immediately bond. Dave also had a consuming passion for building model train layouts. In one house in Yuba City, CA Dave actually built a layout in his living room. It was approximately 40 linear feet and the first thing you would see upon entering his house. He gave talks on modeling at the annual railroad modelers convention. He always made time for his family by making one or two trips to AZ every year. He always made sure to watch his grandchildren compete in athletics. He even once helped by being on the chain gang at one of Trevar's football games. He was completely thrilled when Taylar took up competitive tennis and helped supply racquets. He was, of course, most proud of how competitive his grandchildren were in the classroom. His faith in Christ helped guide his generosity to others. Dave was always willing to lend a helping hand or just a shoulder to cry on. He will be missed by many and leaves behind quite the legacy. Services will be held at Darek and Dianne's house at 9321 W Yukon dr, Peoria AZ on Saturday August 15th at 3pm. In lieu of flowers, please donate to your local humane society. That would make Dave very happy.