David Plumer

David died on Sunday, the first day of November 2015 at 9:00 p.m. He passed away quietly at The Barron Center Nursing Home in Portland, Maine where he had been a resident since September of 2014.

David had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease several years ago. His illness did not take a traditional course. Many years into his decline the word “atypical” was added to the description of his condition and some proffered theories about a certain kind of dementia that might be a factor. Perhaps additionally, or perhaps fundamentally, David also suffered from anxiety and depression. At any rate, his will to live had taken a serious downturn after his mother died, also on November 1st, three years earlier. David’s connection with Mom had been powerful throughout his life. And he had always said that he would not be long to follow after Mom passed.

David will long be remembered as a generous orchestrator of fun and good cheer. He furnished his family and friends endless entertainment and kindness, from “magic” shows in the basement of the ancestral home at 94 Orange Street in Roslindale, Ma, to fine dining experiences around the country, to paid-for adventures in far-flung beautiful places, to gorgeous slide-shows of his global travel.

He was a boy wonder in science and technology growing up in Boston, MA. After a distinguished career at Boston Technical High School he attended MIT where he earned his BS in Electrical Engineering. It was there that he mingled with many of the people who would become instrumental in the subsequent computer technology revolution of our times. His thesis at MIT was a program that enabled a computer to generate music. That work was the foundation for the subsequent development of the synthesizer. David’s technical savvy was legendary. He found any and all problems interesting and eligible for inventive solution. Years later he was appropriately dubbed “Mr. Riggy-Wiggy” by his then 5 year old nephew.

After MIT David worked for Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) as their Senior Sales Analyst for the duration of his career, a position that capitalized on both his knowledge of things technical and his facility with communication. While employed by DEC he lived in Waltham, Massachusetts, San Francisco, California, and Albuquerque, New Mexico before retiring back to New England and devoting his final years to the care of his parents in an apartment he had added on to his home in Portland, Maine.

In San Francisco David met Leroy Miller, a concert pianist and all around absolutely wonderful person. They were together for 20 years before Leroy succumbed to emphysema. David had many wonderful friends around the country and a rich life in the arts. He loved classical music and was a fan of opera and of organ music especially. He also was a lover of cats. He treated each of his feline companions over the years like royalty.

Words cannot adequately express the degree to which David respected and helped those around him. He was simply always there for anyone who needed him. He will be sorely missed.

David leaves behind his sister Ellen Bollen and her husband Peter Bollen of Bridgton, ME; his brother John and his wife Catherine Chandick of Kensington, NH; his brother Paul and his wife Kerry O’Brien of Topsham, ME. He leaves his niece Anna Estrella of Cambridge, MA and his nephew Daniel Plumer of Topsham, ME. He leaves his great-niece Sofia Estrella of Cambridge, MA. He leaves his Aunt, Beatrice Kean of Dover, NH. He was predeceased by his partner Leroy Miller, his mother Hazel Marie Weithaas Plumer, his father Alexander T. Plumer, his uncle Clarence Kean, and his nephew Michael Plumer.

A private family service will take place at the Evergreen Cemetery in Portland, Maine where David will be buried next to his parents.

he direction of Jones-Rich-Hutchins Funeral Home, Portland, ME.