David H. Doehlert: In Memorial

David Doehlert won his battles with cancer until March 13, 1999. He died at home in Anacortes where he resided with his life partner June Gouran.

Surviving are his son James, daughter-in-law Katie, and grandson William of Trappe, Maryland; son Christopher, daughter-in-law Christy,and grandchildren Ashley and Spencer of Westborough, Massachusetts; daughter Leslie Macfarlane, son-in-law Terry, and grandsons Greg, Kevin, and Alex of Beltsville, Maryland; brother Charles of Sarasota, Florida and sister Margaret Barovich of Boca Raton, Florida. His parents preceded him in death.

He was the founder and president of The Experiment Strategies Foundation and known worldwide for teaching statistical design and experiment design to engineers and scientists. He trained over 6,000 students in Design of Experiments many of whom state "he changed my life" in their work. What set David apart in this field, as described by a former student and friend, was the focus on the practical application of mathematics. He developed Uniform Shell Designs for experimentation that are now known as "Doehlert Designs" and he worked with Neil Sloane on I-Optimal designs for ways to generate applied statistical design in experimentation on a routine basis. His open-mindedness to different ideas in math application was renown. He was the creator of the software for DOS "STRATEGY" for Design of Experiments. Prior to that, he had his own private business called "Edgework."

He taught at Phillips Petroleum, Dupont, Corning, Lexmark, Roche, and Monsanto, to mention a few. David also has been employed by Dupont as a statistician and Pittsburgh Plate Glass. As one of his accomplishments, he was instrumental in refining the process of manufacturing curved tempered glass for automobile windows.

David is remembered for his love of sailing and gardening. His courage in his illness the past three years was a beacon for others to face difficulties with a positive attitude and strength.
A personal triumph and delight was hand building and designing a 40-foot ferro-cement sailboat in which he sailed the Atlantic without a motor on two occasions. His handwork in the completion of the boat was evident in the refinements and personal outfitting of the interior. He named his boat the Varde after the two masted schooner captained by his great grandfather from Varde, Denmark

His last years were spent with great hopes and plans for the future, looking to his time with June sailing, finishing his DOE book, gardening and nurturing his friendships all over the world. He made his home in Anacortes, Washington to enjoy the waters among the San Juan Islands.

June Gouran