My condolences to David's family. I first met David when I was dating his cousin, "Pete" Dion. They spent many years together in their younger years.  Shanigans, they both took part in. As the years passed, they lost contact with one another. Over that time, Pete often spoke of David and how he missed that family connection. Also missing the connection with David's sister, Debi. Many years later, they met up again at a family gathering. Pete was pleased that David made an appearance. Hoping to renew their friendship. Sadly, that never happened. David fell ill and was fighting for his life. David left behind wonderful memories, and to this day, we still speak of him. Never forgotten.  Since this memory, we have lost a son, Eric. Hopefully, the Dion Family is all together and is soaring with us.

My father, David, seemed to habitually act kindly towards his family, everyone else, and even towards animals. I was precocious and my actions gave him a lot of his grey hairs! When I had given him a scare, he would act almost preternaturally calm as he tried to use reason to teach me to do better in the future. He seemed to be rarely harsh with anyone. Even when I was very young I remember him speaking to me as if he respected my point of view and saw it as his responsibility to meet me where I was in my childish thought processes. He was also kind to the family pets and even the lab mice at his work! He explained to me that he was willing to kill a mouse, however he was not willing to harm it. Our intellectual debates were performed frequently, playfully, and magnanimously, with kindness and respect as our ground rules. His doctorate and career in the life sciences and my Master's degree and early career in engineering provided us with such different perspectives on every topic of conversation that one of us was sure to have more relevant information than the other, which exercised our abilities to quickly, effectively, and kindly brief each other and others with different points of view.

I learned how to learn from my father, David. He loved to learn, and I loved to watch him learn about the life sciences in his professional life and computers in his personal life. He always seemed to be building and maintaining the best gaming PC that could be built on a shoestring budget, so that our family always had access to the latest and greatest games. He loved his flight simulators, I loved my adventure and puzzle games, and we both loved sandbox games like SimCity. We treasured the historically realistic details in games like Railroad Tycoon. I seemed to be always sparring with him intellectually, and he taught me good sportsmanship in argument of a hypothesis or position. He was very quick to identify all of the obstacles to a proposed course of action, which I viewed as a double-sided coin. While I was often unhappy to hear him present his litany of doubts, he was very often marking a well prioritized set of risks for me to consider. I feel grateful to have had such a wonderful father parent me so well.

I'm so sorry for your loss. I had the pleasure of working with David for several years at the UAB. His scientific knowledge and work ethic ensured that we were productive and efficient, but it was his calm and good humor that I remember most - it pulled us through more than one stressful time. He will be missed very much.

Rick and I are sorry for the loss of David and the love of life he brought to all who knew him. We will miss him dearly. My heart goes out to you and your families. With love, Kathy and Rick Price

So sorry for your families loss Deb. What a great guy. He seemed to have a gentle, sweet spirit. Healing thoughts and prayers "out" to you all. Hang in there and stay strong.

Debbie,
I am truly sorry for your sudden loss.
Grief is a hard thing. You have surely had your share. God is always there. Stay strong my sweet friend. Don’t ever give up on God and he will never give up on you. I am always just a call away. 205-706-8989♥️

David and his daughter, Kristin

Debbie,

Our sincere sympathy to you and your family. It was our and pleasure and honor to have known Dave. He became a very important part of the Northern New Hampshire community. We will miss his kindness and wonderful smile. Our prayers are with you.

Love,

Phil and Joyce Krill