Donald J. “Duke” Spittler, of Lake View, a retired Army Reserve colonel and wildlife biologist who was dedicated to community service, died Monday in ElderWood at Lakewood Health Care Center, Hamburg. He was 91.

Born in Lake View, he was a graduate of Lackawanna High School and Cornell University, where he earned a degree in wildlife biology before enlisting in the Army in 1940.

After Pearl Harbor, Mr. Spittler was deployed to Hawaii with the 106th Field Artillery, then attended Officer Candidate School and was assigned to the 99th Infantry Division as a second lieutenant.

He was promoted to captain in 1943 and sent to Belgium in November 1944 as a battery commander with the 99th. His unit played a key role in the Battle of the Bulge, and he was awarded the Bronze Star. He spent V-E Day in a French hospital after being wounded.

He joined the Army Reserve after the war, retiring as a colonel in 1975, and was elected to the Army Artillery Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame in 1986.

From 1946 until 1972, Mr. Spittler was a wildlife biologist for the state Department of Conservation, creating wildlife habitats and helping with the state’s reforestation efforts. In 1972, he went to work for the state Department of Mental Hygiene, appraising properties targeted to be used for the mentally handicapped and for addiction control facilities.

In 1976, he took a similar post with the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, appraising and processing projects for the elderly and for low-income residents. In 1984, he received the Ronald Reagan Award for Community Service and was elected Professional of the Year by the Federal Executive Board.

He also served as president of the Hamburg Historical Society, Lake View Volunteer Fire Association and Lake View Athletic Club, where he arranged for the purchase of property for a playground. As longtime chairman of the Town of Hamburg Conservation Advisory Board and a member of the town Planning Board, he crusaded against rampant development along Eighteen Mile Creek.

His wife of 37 years, Anne Honen Spittler, died in 1986.

He is survived by a daughter, Gail Rose, and three sons, George, Donald Jr. and David.

Services will be at 10 a. m. today in Lakeside Memorial Funeral Home, 4199 Lake Shore Road, Hamburg.