David James Ashe, 60, former resident of Simpsonville, SC, died Monday, January 26, 2026, at his home in Greenwood.

Born July 27, 1965, in Decatur, GA, David was the son of Kay Hughes Ashe and the late James Newton Ashe, Jr.

He was a graduate of Hillcrest High School, class of 1983, Clemson University class of 1987 (BS Electrical Engineering), University of Northern Colorado, class of 1995 (MS Statistics), and Auburn University, class of 2000 (PhD Mathematics). After graduating from Clemson University, he served in the USAF 1987-1996 and earned the rank of Captain. He was a B52 Electronic Warfare Officer during the Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm Aug 1990- Feb 1991). After separating from the USAF, he continued his schooling and pursued a career in higher education. He taught mathematics at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga, Lee University and Tennessee Wesleyan University. He was a member of First Baptist Church, Simpsonville. SC.

He is survived by his mother, Kay Hughes Ashe; a sister Kathryn Ashe White, and her husband Luke, of Greenwood, SC; and a nephew David Luke White.

A memorial service will be held at 2 pm on Sunday, February 8, 2026, at Harley Funeral Home. The family will receive friends immediately following the service.

A private burial will be held at Woodlawn Memorial Park in Greenville, SC.

Memorials may be made to a charity of one's choice.

View service here: https://youtube.com/live/L0sf3v6WBW0?feature=share


David James Ashe Tribute
David James Ashe was a kind, tender-hearted person. A peacemaker that did not like to argue and wanted everyone to be happy. He was fun-loving, laid-back, outgoing and adventurous. He loved animals and had numerous pets growing up. Dogs, cats, fish and whatever small critter he could find outside. His mother accommodated his love for animals for the most part, except for the snakes. The snakes he would have to leave outside.
A doting son to his mother and father, when not teaching or traveling, he would always come "home" for extended stays and would enjoy visiting with family and friends.
A wonderful, protective big brother. David was a 5-year-old kindergartener when Kathryn was born. Since Kathryn was born in early January. In fact, the first day back to school after the Christmas holidays, David wanted to take her to school to show his friends his "real baby" not the pretend babies the other girls were bringing to school that they had gotten for Christmas. This sentiment and affection towards his sister remained throughout his life.

He delighted in being an uncle to his nephew David White, and looked forward to fishing adventures, exploring the creek to look for crawdads and golfing together.

He was baptized as a child at Oak Grove Baptist Church in Carrollton, Georgia, and was active in RAs and youth ministry activities throughout his formative years. Perhaps he should have been named Moses, because to his mother's horror one Sunday night he snuck a toad into the evening worship service. He had been outside playing with friends in the church yard before the service, found a toad and put it in his pocket. No one knew he had the toad until he pulled it out in the middle of the service to proudly show his mother. Of course, it quickly hopped out of his hand and landed on the floor. He did re-capture it but not without a bit of ruckus and a new nickname.
David was a very active child/teenager. He played lots of little league sports. Football was his favorite. He played football through ninth grade and picked up track in the spring of his freshman year after his coach encouraged players to play a spring sport for conditioning and to stay in shape for the next football season. Well, he enjoyed the 1-mile event so much that instead of playing football he switched to cross-country the next year. He then participated in every 5K race within a 100-mile radius for the next three years. By his senior year in high school, he had lettered multiple times in track and cross-country and was one of the qualifying members of Hillcrest High School's 1982 4-A Cross-Country State Championship winning team.

College football is his favorite sport to watch but will watch anything with a scoreboard.

Clemson is his alma mater and his most cherished team but has favorites in every conference.

David's first job was at Pete's of Simpsonville. They hired him to be part of their evening clean-up crew. He did not have his driver's license yet and even if he did a beginner's permit would not have allowed him to drive after dark, so mom or dad would have to take him and pick him up after his shift. He went in at 8:00pm, mopped, cleaned bathrooms and helped shut down the kitchen for the night. Nick and George, the Greek brothers that owned the restaurant, were impressed with his work ethic and soon brought him into the kitchen to teach him how to cook. A cook and a foodie were born.

A foodie that enjoyed trying new foods and then trying to re-create them in his own kitchen. He often hosted dinner parties to share his love of food with others.

He has lived in Georgia, South Carolina, Texas, California, Maine, Colorado, Alabama, Tennessee and then retired back to South Carolina.

A seasoned traveler that has traveled to many if not all 50 states including Alaska. His world travels include Canada, England, France, Germany, Guam, Peru, Poland, Spain, Togo and more. We lost track years ago of all his travel adventures. He did a summer abroad program in France as a college student. Then as a college professor he continued to participate in summer abroad programs at the schools where he taught. Utilizing the experiences to learn new languages, cultures and taste unique foods.

As a USAF ROTC college scholarship recipient his military service and exposure began while a student at Clemson. In addition to his military science courses, he participated in Pershing Rifles (Collegiate Military Drill Team) and Scabbard and Blade (American Collegiate Military Honor Society) and often performed and presented colors at Clemson home football and basketball games.

David was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the USAF in a commissioning ceremony at Tillman Hall on the morning of May 8, 1987. He then proceeded to Littlejohn Coliseum to receive his diploma during Clemson's Commencement ceremony that same day.

He completed Navigator School at Mather Air Force Base in Sacramento, California and served as the Electronic Warfare Officer (EWO) on a B-52G Stratofortress. He participated in the Operation Desert Storm bombing campaign against Iraq. (Aug 2, 1990 – Feb 28, 1991)

One of his highlights from his time in the USAF was his time in Diego Garcia during Operation Desert Storm. It allowed him to avoid a winter at Loring AFB in Maine, fish when not flying a mission, cook the fish he caught and come home with a great tan.

Another highlight of his time in the USAF was teaching at the Air Force Academy Prep School in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was during this time that he discovered his penchant for teaching which led him to pursue a PhD in mathematics and become a college professor.

For those in the military accepting and acknowledging your mortality is part of your duty, and something each service member must address for themselves. When others would ask David if he was nervous that he might be shot down during his Operation Desert Storm missions his reply was always, "No, that is out of my hands, only God knows my fate."

He was a beloved son, brother, uncle and friend.