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Reverend Michael David Fetter, Jr. died peacefully surrounded by his family on June 9, 2026. He was lovingly known as "David" by his wife, Mary; "Dad" by his daughters Jamie Villalobos (Alex), Holly Leoni (Michael); and "PaPa" by his grandchildren Viviana & Alexander Villalobos, Katherine & Vance Leoni; "Dave" by his siblings Beth Skyles (preceded in death) Mark Fetter & Sarah Allbright; "Uncle" by Pete, Tim (preceded in death), Leah (preceded in death), Joshua (preceded in death), Vicki, Mary, Johanna, Adam & many grandnieces & nephews; and "Pastor Fetter" by his church family.
David was born on August 9, 1944, in Toledo, Ohio, to Reverend M. David, Sr. and Elizabeth Fetter. He was later blessed with a second mom, Shirley Fetter. As the son of a Lutheran pastor, his family lived in Oshkosh, Wisconsin; Detroit, Michigan; Australia; Columbus, Ohio; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and San Antonio, Texas.
David attended Texas Lutheran College in Seguin, Texas, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. He later earned his Master of Divinity degree with honors from the Evangelical Lutheran Theological Seminary in Columbus, Ohio. He served his internship at St. Paul-Calvary Lutheran Congregations in Niagara Falls, New York. On July 12, 1970, he was ordained at Grace Lutheran Church in San Antonio, Texas beginning four decades of ministry.
On June 30, 1967, David married Mary Mercer at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Houston, Texas. They shared a life of love, support, and dedication to a partnership in ministry.
Throughout this ministry, Pastor Fetter faithfully served congregations in Rosenberg and Houston, Texas. In 1979, he accepted a call to lead a mission congregation in Southwest Austin. That mission would become Abiding Love Lutheran Church, officially organized on April 20, 1980. As founding pastor, David led the congregation through decades of growth, helping guide the construction of multiple church facilities, expanding ministries, and nurturing generations of believers through worship, baptisms, confirmations, marriages, funerals, pastoral care, and friendship.
Pastor Fetter's ministry was never confined to the pulpit. He was known for acknowledging everyone, remembering names, celebrating birthdays, visiting the sick, encouraging children, welcoming newcomers, and making every person feel seen and valued. He was also known for his (lengthy) sermons that bridged faith with everyday life stories, which included humor and humanity. He was active in the South Austin Civic Club, the Austin Area Conference of Churches, Austin Metropolitan Ministries, Austin Area Interreligious Ministries, and faithfully served as volunteer chaplain at Marbridge Ranch in Manchaca.
David lived the past three years at Silverado Barton Springs Memory Care Community where he continued sharing God's love often reaching out to hold other's hands (sometimes longer than expected) as well as thanking people and saying, "peace be with you." We would like to thank everyone at Silverado for the love, compassion, and respect shown to David and our family.
David will be remembered for his steadfast faith, gentle spirit, quick wit, generous heart, and his unwavering commitment to sharing God's love with everyone he encountered. His life reflected the words he so often said:
"It's all about LOVE"
"God's love for us, our love for God, and our love for each other"
"Jesus loves you, and so do I"
A Celebration of Life will be held on David's birthday, Sunday, August 9, 2026, 2 PM, Abiding Love Lutheran Church in Austin.
Donations of love can be made in David's memory to support:
Livestream of Celebration of Life will be available on Abiding Love's YouTube Channel.
We remember David's family and friends in our prayers and trust that the promise of the Resurrection is true and sure.
In Christ,
Bishop Sue Briner
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