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David was born in 1935 in Alert Bay, a small community nestled in the coastal temperate rainforests on the northern end of Vancouver Island, British Colombia. His parents were Elva Jane and Jack Stothers, and his siblings Rod, Suzanne and Dianne. He spent most of his childhood and adolescence further south on Vancouver Island, in the community of Lake Cowichan. His father Jack managed a lumber mill in the area. As a teen, David worked in the lumber mill run by his father. Growing up surrounded by First Nations communities, David developed a heart-felt understanding of the injustices they faced. Showing academic brilliance in mathematics, physics and languages, after graduating from high school, David migrated to Quebec and began his studies at the Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean, where his classes were all in French. From there he transferred to the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario and following that to McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. He emerged from these studies with a Bachelors of Science and an Engineering degree. David fell in love with Air Force Officer Joyce Arlene Pace, and they married on August 14, 1965 in Germany. Their honeymoon was in Vienna. First daughter Jacqueline Lee was born in 1966 in England. Second daughter Simone Alexandra Jane was born in Ottawa on October 6, 1973. Following David's graduation from McGill, he served as an officer in the Canadian army. In the late 1950's he was seconded to the National Research Council. During his army career, he was also sent to study in the Royal Military College of Science in England. David is remembered for his love of life-long learning. During much of his army career, David was engaged in university studies in mathematics, engineering, computers, and science. He also showed a great love and aptitude for learning languages- with a special focus on French and German. When his daughter Jacqueline was four years old, David was posted to serve as a representative of the Canadian Army in the International Control Commission in Vietnam, during the Vietnam War in the late 1960's. Wife Joyce and daughter Jacqueline sadly saw him off to Vietnam from Hawaii, where they lived for about a year during his assignment. Following his return to Canada, having attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, David commanded the Second Royal Canadian Artillery Regiment in Petawawa, Ontario for two years. From Petawawa, David was transferred to Washington D.C. where he served in a semi-diplomatic role as liaison officer for the Canadian Army in the Pentagon for 4 years. During this period David and his family resided in Annandale, Virginia, and David completed two Masters degrees- in Economics and International Public Policy - at Johns Hopkins School of International Studies. He also studied in a Johns Hopkins PhD program in Economics. With the end of his assignment in Washington DC, David retired from his army career and began his career in the private sector first in Canada and later in the USA. Following a series of strokes in Florida, USA in 2006, David relocated to Canada. During a prolonged period of illness prior to his death, David developed a close relationship with his son-in-law Gordon Brookes (husband of daughter Jacqueline) who gave David much love and friendship during the difficult last years of his life. David will be remembered for his love of music and languages, his generosity with his grandchildren, his fun-loving nature, and his untiring intellectual curiosity. He will be missed by his daughters Jacqueline and Simone; his son-in- law Gordon Brookes; his grandchildren Ariel and Zachary; his sisters Suzanne and Dianne; his nieces Meghan, Keely, Catlin, Suzanne and Sarah; his nephews Patrick and Charles; and all of his former colleagues. |