David was born at Alta, Wyoming, on May 24, 1896, in the home of Emma Dalley Pratt, his mother's sister. When he was about three years old his family was required to go to Summit, Utah, to live with his grandfather and grandmother James and Bolette Dalley. He enjoyed very much his years in Summit. He attended school there, also.

They later moved again to Teton Valley, on the border of Wyoming and Idaho. He graduated from the eighth grade in Driggs as county valedictorian. In 1916 David and his brother Modie purchased a farm. The agreement was that David would run the farm and Modie would herd the sheep.

Both brothers entered the Army in the latter part of 1917. They went to Europe together. Modie was killed in action, but David returned home safely after the Armistice. He had been gassed during the fighting, so had bad lungs, and while standing guard duty on a rainy night, he caught pneumonia. He suffered severely from this illness, and was sent to southern France, on the shores of the Mediterranean for recuperation.

After he returned home, he was called to serve a mission in California from 1919 to 1920. He met Alice Randall while serving as a missionary. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple June 8, 1921, and returned to Tucson, Arizona, to live, where he had served his mission. He was called as branch president there. He attended school there and at Stanford University at Palo Alto, California. He received his B.S. degree in 1925 and his M.S. degree in 1926. He taught school in Buckeye, Arizona in 1925 and 1926, then moved to Driggs, Idaho, to run the farm for his sister Sadie after her husband, Sam Lowe, died. He taught school in Driggs, then in New Mexico and Mesa, Arizona. They purchased a farm near Chandler, Arizona, and set up a dairy herd. He also worked for the Soil Conservation Service in 1935 and maintained this employment for 18 years, retiring in 1953. They also entered into other business enterprises in Chandler.

The family moved to Challis, Idaho, where David suffered a stroke and heart attack, then they bought ranches near Dillon, Montana, where he lived until his death on September 30, 1971. He and Alice were the parents of five sons.