David Perry Montague

Colonel David Perry Montague, US Air Force retired, art and craft collector, patron of the fields of classical music and opera, died Sunday, November 17 At MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital, Clinton, MD. He was 80. The cause of death was a massive heart attack, said his wife Clemmer Montague. The Montagues are residents of Fort Washington, MD. The Montagues, both US Air Force officers, moved to Fort Washington on assignments. Colonel Montague was a student at the Johns Hopkins School of International Studies in international economies. He then moved to the Defense Intelligence Agency as an international relations specialist where he was chief of the briefing team for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. After this assignment, he moved to the Air Staff, followed by a final assignment at the DIA as chief of the Director’s Staff Group. He retired in 1985. Mr. and Mrs. Montague were involved in art and craft support organizations until his demise. He was a member of the board of directors of the former Friends of the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Having interests of studio and functional craft, they joined the James Renwick Alliance, (JRA), then a support group for the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery. He went on to help establish a Distinguished Artist Lecture Series for JRA, inviting artists to Washington, D.C., for demonstrations and a lecture at the Renwick Gallery. He was president of the James Renwick Alliance from 1998 to 2000 when JRA created a formal relationship with the Smithsonian American Art Museum. He was also a current member of the board of trustees of the Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts, Newcastle, ME. The Montagues were early supporters of the Washington Concert Opera, and he served on the board of directors of the Guild for Washington Concert Opera and the WCO board of directors. Mr. Montague’s life was devoted to the celebration of man’s creativity of the world of art and music. Nothing was more pleasurable to him than to sit in front of the stereo to listen and study an opera; and he loved to solve crossword and Ken-Ken puzzles. He was an avid duplicate bridge player and love walking with his dog Figgy. Mr. Montague was born in Worcester, MA and his family lived in Southbridge, MA. He is a magna cum laude 1961 graduate of Yale University, has a MS from Auburn University, AL, and is a graduate of the Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute. He married Clemmer Slaton in 1972 at Maxell Air Force Base, Montgomery, AL, before moving to Fort Washington where they both completed military service and retired. Survivors are his wife of 47 years Clemmer Montague, and a sister Emily Scharman of Cape Canaveral, FL, brother-in-law Jessie Benjamin Slaton and his wife Anna, sisters-in-law Rebecca Slaton Lee, Ella Fitzbag and her husband Dean, Linda Johnson and her husband Mickey, several nieces and nephews, great and great-great nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Washington Concert Opera, 2437 15th Street NW, Washington, D. C., 20007 www.concertopera.org or Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts, www.watershedceramics.org 19 Brick Hill Rd, Newcastle, ME 04553. A memorial service is planned for December 14 at 2 p.m. at the Grace Lutheran Church, 10928 Indian Head Hwy, Fort Washington, MD 20744. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of David Perry Montague please visit our Sympathy Store.