Blewett

David C. Blewett died peacefully on Sunday, April 5, 2026.

Born in Wilkinsburg, Pa., in 1936, he was the son of Guy C. and Martha T. Blewett. He graduated from Penn High School (now Penn Hills High School) in 1954.

He attended Penn State University, and later Slippery Rock State College (now Slippery Rock University), where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in secondary education (physics) in 1965. He was awarded a master’s degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N.Y., in 1970.

During summers while in college, he worked at Gulf Research & Development Co., Harmarville, Pa., repairing seismic exploration equipment (1955); at Gulf Oil Co., Duncan, Okla., as part of a field seismic crew (1956); and with Shell Oil Co., Brownsville, Texas, as part of a field seismic crew (1957).

He served in the U.S. Army, going through basic training at Fort Jackson, in South Carolina, in 1959 and then was sent to Fort Belvoir, in Virginia, to the School for Photo-Interpretation and Photogrammetry. He was assigned to the 29th Engineer Battalion as a photogrammetrist, Army Map Service, in Tokyo, Japan, from 1959 to 1960. After the Army, he was employed at American Air Surveys, Pittsburgh, as a photogrammetrist from 1961 to 1962.

He began his teaching career at Bethel Park High School, Pa., teaching physics from 1965 to 1968. He was a professor at Butler County Community College from 1968 to 2003, where he taught physics, geology, pre-calculus math and astronomy. During the 1994 fall semester, David was on sabbatical at Mount Wilson Observatory, Calif. There, he operated the 60-inch telescope and participated in a research project to study “star spots” on stars similar to the Sun.

David is survived by Nancy J. Blewett, his wife of 62 years; his sister, Lynne Faridy; son, David T. Blewett and his wife, Gina Ling; daughter, Dana (Blewett) Reitz and her husband, Kyle Reitz; grandson, Derek X. Ma; granddaughter, Koa S. Reitz; and sister-in-law, Joanne Blewett.

David was preceded in death by his brother, Dale W. Blewett, and brother-in-law, Jamil Faridy.

David and Nancy were longtime, active members of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Butler. After retirement, David volunteered for many years at the Covenant Food Cupboard.

A private family service will be held in David’s memory.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the North Country Trail Association, https://northcountrytrail.org, or to your local food bank.

Please sign the guest book at www.butlereagle.com.