David Jerome Walsh

He was born in Oak Park, Illinois, on Monday, January 10, 1938, as the youngest of five children to Cecil and Ellen Benson Walsh. From 1946-1947, David was home-schooled for a year due to a bout with rheumatic fever. To combat the illness, the family doctor urged a move to the Southwest. In April 1948, he, his parents, and older brother, James, drove US Highway 66 to California, settling in Hemet. David attended Hemet Elementary, Hemet Junior High, and graduated from Hemet High School with the class of 1955. He was involved in student activities throughout his schooling, particularly in high school, where he was photographer for the yearbook, member of the California Scholastic Federation, electrician for class plays, and for half of his senior year, president of the student body. At graduation, he was honored with a Bank of America Achievement Award and a scholarship from the Nutrilite Corporation. David was accepted at the then-new University of California at Riverside, graduating in 1959 with a B.A. in Physics. During vacations, he worked for the Naval Ordinance Lab in Norco, the Nutrilite Lab in Hemet, and the Hemacinto Drive-In Theater. In 1962 he was awarded a Master of Science degree in Physics from the University of Arizona and that fall became a Physics instructor at what was then the College of Southern Utah in Cedar City. After two years of teaching, he accepted a position as a geophysicist at the Marathon Oil Company research lab in Littleton, Colorado, retiring from there in 1988 as a Senior Scientist.

David was a life-long outdoor enthusiast. In high school he began exploring back roads and trails of southern California. While at the University of Arizona, he expanded his activities into spelunking. After moving to Colorado, he discovered four-wheeling, snow-shoeing and cross-country skiing. He loved the backcountry of the West and explored much of it alone and with friends. He toured Alaska and the Maritime Provinces of Canada. He could be seen on blue highways and at the top of several of Colorado's 14,000-foot peaks, as well as with a group on a hiking tour over the Peruvian Andes. He was a member of Sigma XI, a Founding Member of the National Historic Route 66 Federation, a Friend of the Mojave Road, and either a member or donor to a number of other outdoor organizations.

All of his immediate family has passed on, except for his brother James (Barbara) of Hemet. However, he will be universally remembered by many nieces and nephews in California, Illinois, Texas, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, and Florida simply as "Uncle Dave."

In lieu of flowers the family has suggested a memorial donation to the Colorado Neurological Institute at www.TheCNI.org.