Dave DePue grew up on a dairy farm in western New York State. After graduating from high school, He served in the US Navy aboard the carrier Kitty Hawk. This experience resulted in a passion for airplanes and brought him to Lockheed Aircraft in California. Dave was an experimental flight line mechanic, testing the SR71 “Blackbird” at Lockheed’s “Skunk Works” facility. He and his wife Joyce were married in Burbank in 1965. Dave later worked for United Airlines at Los Angeles International Airport before leaving to finish college on the GI Bill.
Dave earned a bachelor’s and master’ s degree in education at Buffalo State College in NY, then taught in a Columbus Ohio area High School. Dave received recognition in a variety of local media for impacting the lives of his students. He was recruited to teach at Ohio State University where he earned a Ph.D. with emphasis in Curriculum & Instruction. Dr. DePue served as a professor and administrator at the University of Georgia, West Virginia University, and the University of Illinois. Dave left academia, moving to Kansas where he served as Executive Director of a State education oversight board and later as Director of the State Approving Agency for veteran’s education. He took early retirement in 2003 after 15 years of State government service and returned to teaching & administration at Washburn University in Topeka. Dave retired from Washburn U in 2008 to lead God’s ministry to Kansas government leaders.
Joyce and Dave DePue both turned their lives over to Jesus in 1984 while living in Illinois. They have been in leadership in several ministries. Joyce has served many years as a small group leader in Bible Study Fellowship. God made sure that Dave was well qualified to eventually lead Capitol Commission in Kansas. He served as a volunteer Chaplain for nearly 20 years; coordinating the weekly Legislator’s Prayer Breakfast. Dave is Past President and current Secretary of Topeka Fellowship, the group that plans the annual Kansas State Prayer Breakfast. He is also Past President of Topeka Youth for Christ; serving on their Board for 20 years. Dave’s peers elected him Chairman of the Washburn University Faculty & Staff Christian Fellowship. He also served several years on the board of The Greater Topeka Association of Evangelicals, coordinating city-wide ministry activities. Dave has also been serving for a dozen years as Sunday School Superintendent at his church and is a licensed minister.
God has blessed the ministry in the Kansas Capitol. During the 2011 Legislative session, Dave taught through the Book of Daniel. At sessions end, leadership honored him with the Daniel Award, for modeling Godly leadership in government.
The DePues have three married children: Paula, Brandon, & Tamara; and six grandchildren. Joyce is a discussion leader for Bible Study Fellowship and worked much of her career as a daycare cook. Dave’s mother lives with them. Both Pauline and Joyce love to bake and host ministry visitors in their Topeka home.