The life & times of “Red” Witmer
1910 - 1984


Nevin David Elias Witmer was born on Christmas Eve 1910. His mother was Cora Spicher of Lancaster county Pennsylvania, land of the Pennsylvania Dutch.

In the Fall of 1934, he married Ethel Mae Miller of Millersburg PA. His sons were named Frank & Jack. I remember Dad and his patience teaching me to drive, hunt and handle life. I remember the folk songs that he sang, like McClintock's "The Big Rock Candy Mountain" which I later realized to be a warning of the times. Following those years of the depression, he worked as a coal miner and farmer. His last job was with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as a correction's (police) officer.

Eventually, my father's red hair turned to silver and the smile that had given me so much confidence was gone. He died on the 24th day of April 1984. His ashes were scattered to the waters of Delaware, his final home. The words of poet Mary Elizabeth Frye express his implied epitaph.


Do not stand at my grave and weep;
I am not there, I do not sleep.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain;
I am a gentle autumn rain.

I am a thousand winds that blow;
I am the softly falling snow.

Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there, I did not die.


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