David Lee Eilers peacefully passed away surrounded by family on Saturday, June 27, at the age of 61.

David's ancestors carved out lives in the unforgiving days of the American West. They were homesteaders, explorers, mining engineers, and business leaders who built and operated major smelting operations across several states. David followed in their footsteps, chasing opportunity and building things from scratch in the modernizing West with that same ingenuity—always in search of a better life for his family.

Born to Karl Emrich Eilers and Marjorie Ann Eilers (Schmidt) on June 5, 1965, David grew up in Renton, Washington, with his sister, Kim. He developed a passion for jeeping and exploring the wilderness at a young age, through family trips with the local jeep club. The jeep club instilled in David the importance of building a strong community, spending time with family, and giving back through conservation projects. David and Kim are still lifelong friends with people they met through the club. He found his first professional calling—cooking—as a short order cook at Burger Works in Seattle. David began college at the University of Washington but paused his studies to cycle around New Zealand. When he returned, he brought his cooking skills, his love of wandering, and his home-built jeep to San Juan Island Washington where he worked as a line cook at Roche Harbor Resort for several seasons. He then returned home to complete his undergraduate degree in business management with a focus on finance at the University of Puget Sound. David eventually moved to Utah, where he had three children: Karson, Kasia, and Colter. He loved taking them hiking around red sandstone cliffs and canyons. During that period of his life, David also earned his MBA with an emphasis in technology management from the University of Utah, which sparked an entrepreneurial spirit. He and a few friends set out to change the world through technology in the early days of California's silicon-powered "gold rush." As the economy roiled, it became clear that the company they'd built, Many One, was a salted claim, and David moved to Boise to be closer to his kids and pursue new opportunities. There he rediscovered his love of jeeps and built an online community around vintage models called eWillys.com. For more than 20 years, as David educated, entertained, and informed his readers, eWillys.com blossomed into a life of its own connecting people around the world who shared his passion. He helped families who had inherited a vintage Jeep find buyers who would preserve it. He helped readers track down obscure parts to keep their own projects running. With David's experience and dogged research, he meticulously documented the historical significance of Jeeps spanning 1940 through mid 1980. In 2011 David returned to Renton to help care for his aging parents and began a new career in writing, publishing his memoir Finding Virginia, where he chronicled his (mis)adventures in both jeeps and in life. There he met and married the love of his life, Brenda "Ann" Eilers (Ritt). Together they traveled the country meeting eWillys.com readers and scouting locations and research for future books. Through their union Ann's son Daniel also joined the Eilers family. David embraced Daniel as his son, teaching him how to cook and sharing fatherly advice. After several years in Pasco, David and Ann settled in Prosser, Washington. In Prosser, when David wasn't publishing eWillys.com, he raised cattle, rebuilt vintage jeeps, and wrote three more books: The Amber Panels of Koenigsberg; SLAG: Western Smelting and Eastern Money; and the soon-to-be-posthumously-released Henry Farny, "Prince of Bohemians". His love of history and gift for research shines through all of them. David will be remembered for his boundless curiosity, generous spirit, quiet determination, and unwavering love for his family, history, and the Jeep community he helped build.

David is preceded in death by his parents: Karl and Marjorie Eilers, Uncle Branson "BB" Eilers, David is survived by his wife, Ann Eilers; his four children: Karson Quinn Eilers, Kasia Perthenia Eilers, Daniel Eugene Eilers, and Colter Branson Eilers; his sister, Kim Ann Lansidel (Eilers); his beloved aunt Marilyn Perry (Schmidt) and her partner Phil Bannon, Uncle Anton "Tony" Eilers, Aunt Raylene Eilers (), niece Holly L. Lansidel, nephew Tommy E. Lansidel, and numerous cousins.

A celebration of David's life will be held at David's and Ann's home in Prosser Wa; 3pm July 25th. All who with to attend are welcome.