David Lloyd West

Dr. David Lloyd West passed away peacefully at home in Santa Clarita on October 3, 2020. A beloved husband, father and grandfather, Dave is survived by his wife of 44 years, Hillary, his daughter Meredith and son-in-law Patrick; daughter Kendra; and his two grandsons, Edward and Hunter. All miss him terribly but feel comfort knowing he is at peace. A sister, Barbara Lindquist, passed away in 1994. He is especially remembered by family, friends, neighbors and students as a loving, caring man who opened his door to everyone, treasured meeting and making new friends, and embraced the unique spirit of all.

Beyond creating and supporting a loving family, Dave spent his life as a valued scientific teacher and colleague. His long and varied career was unique and demonstrated the breadth of his scientific knowledge and his strong capabilities in both traditional biological research as well as mastery of advanced scientific instrumentation.

David was born in 1944 in Southgate, California and attended Downey High School in Southern California. He pursued his early love of science and the ocean by attending Long Beach State University where he received both his B.S. and M.S. degrees in the Biological Sciences. He went on to receive his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from Northeastern University in Boston. Following Northeastern, he spent two years as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Developmental Biology at the University of California, Irvine.

At Long Beach State and the Northeastern University Marine Science Institute, he conducted original research and his love of invertebrate zoology led to a series of publications in scientific journals cited by others around the world. At Northeastern he also taught classes and served as director of the Electron Microscope facility.

Colleague Dr. Kevin Eckelbarger, Professor Emeritus of Marine Biology, Darling Marine Center, University of Maine remembers Dave’s early days in marine biology: “I shall miss my very close friend. Dave and I did our M.S. degrees together in California in the late 1960's and our Ph.D.'s in Boston in the early 1970's. He was a great biologist.”

After graduation from Northeastern, Dave spent two years as a post-doctoral student at University of California Irvine and published additional research using the simple invertebrate hydra as a model for understanding organismal development as part of the unique, ground-breaking research being conducted at the Center for Pathobiology.

Following his work at Irvine, Dave joined the Biology Department at Sangamon State University and began his rewarding years teaching and researching in an academic position.

“Dave West was the consummate biologist whether in the lab, in the field, or in the classroom,” said Dr. James Veselenak, retired associate professor of Clinical Lab Science and Public Health, Sangamon State University. “His knowledge of the many aspects of biology was remarkable. A true scientist, teacher, and friend.”

After achieving tenure, David went on to pursue a career in scientific instrument sales and training where his personality, humor and love of scientific investigation enhanced his ability to speak science in many languages as he traveled around the world.

As his former colleague and manager at Thermo Fisher Scientific wrote, “With his decades in the field, he brought a lot of deep knowledge of the technology to our team, and I always appreciated that level of insight. He was very good (and patient) at explaining complex technology to people in a way that they could understand, and that is always a strong service to the scientific community.”

Dave’s family and friends take comfort in knowing that he will not only live on in their memories of his rich, rewarding life but in his contributions to science and the natural world that he loved so well.