Dave Stauss was more than a distinguished civil engineer for the U.S. Army and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
He craved adventure — kite-boarding, sailing, skiing and driving hot little sport cars. He also had a showboat side, entertaining crowds as a flamboyant bass drummer for Atlanta’s offbeat Seed & Feed Marching Abominable band, plus helping to make the rockets’ red glare at Decatur’s annual Fourth of July fireworks show.
David Alan Stauss, 63, died Monday at his Atlanta home of melanoma complications. His memorial service is 1 p.m. Thursday at Inman Park United Methodist Church. A.S. Turner & Sons Funeral Home and Crematory is in charge of arrangements.
Steve Kupec of Anniston, Ala., said he met Stauss in 1981 when both were civilian employees working for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Germany.
“Together,” he said, “we contracted U.S. military construction and repair projects throughout Western Europe. Our section averaged 300 projects a year with an estimated worth of $400 million a year.”
In 1988 the two of them were reunited at the U.S. Army Forces Command at Fort McPherson in Atlanta. There, Kupec said, they prepared cost estimates for congressional approval concerning stateside projects valued at $600 million annually at 19 major Army installations and 1,200 Army Reserve centers.
“Dave had an outstanding breadth of knowledge of construction techniques and knew how to deal with people effectively,” Kupec said.
Tommy Kyzar of Decatur, also a civilian employee of the Army, said Stauss was “the kindest, most easy-going boss I ever had. It was a pleasure to work for him.”
Kyzar said Stauss was also a strong and wise leader who taught his staff the intricacies of earning a go-ahead from Congress for military projects.
In 2005 Stauss joined the CDC as a contract engineer. His boss, Doug Brown of Atlanta, credited Stauss with smoothing the complications of moving CDC staffers into two new buildings on its Clifton Road campus.
Stauss was thorough, precise and very likable, Brown said. “Dave made people feel at ease. At the same time they realized he had a firm grasp on what he did.”
Drew Stauss of Decatur said one might assume his older brother was a typically reserved engineer from his conservative attire and quiet manner. “I never realized how goofy Dave was until he joined the Abominable band,” he said.
After starting as a trumpet player, Dave Stauss switched to the bass drum, an instrument he played during college days in Virginia Military Institute’s band. Eventually he became the Abominables’ principal bass drummer.
Drew Stauss said that was when his older brother displayed his truly daffy side. “Dave even learned to sew,” he said, “so he could make his own extravagant, multicolored costumes — which were Mardi Gras-like but tackier.”
While marching at a public event, Dave Stauss would make a point to interact with onlookers. “Dave would veer from one side of the street to the other, playfully scattering the crowd to make way for him,” his brother said.
As a longtime member of the Decatur fireworks crew, Dave Stauss was more like an engineer, dependable and safety-conscious, his younger brother said.
Surviving are his wife of 36 years, Cheryl Stauss; his father, William Stauss of Stone Mountain; a sister, Martha Stauss of Baltimore, Md.; and another brother, Gary Stauss of Dallas, Texas.
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