David Carlton Frederick

David Carlton Frederick, 65, residing in Salem, OR passed away peacefully on December 31st, 2024. David was born in Morristown, NJ on December 8, 1959, to Robert and Vivian Frederick, and was raised in Cupertino, CA.

He graduated from Monta Vista High School, and then from San Jose State University. A highly accomplished musician, there was no instrument David couldn't play. While jazz piano was his calling, he also played brass instruments with great skill. David played regularly in community bands in Cupertino.

He was an assistant editor of Keyboard Magazine, and his love of music and his knowledge of technology led to his career at Waveframe in 1986. In 1996, he started working at Silicon Graphics, where he began his long successful career in tech sales and marketing.

To enjoy his retirement and be closer to his family, David decided to sell his childhood home and move to Salem. He quickly found much to love in the Willamette Valley and its residents and would regularly visit such beloved establishments as EZ Orchard and Santiam Brewery. More times than we could count, he would leap to share a friendly interaction he'd have out and about Salem with a store employee or passer-by. Despite dropping everything and moving hundreds of miles to a new city, he quickly found true friends in his neighborhood and at the South Salem Senior Center where he enjoyed playing pool every Thursday morning.

David is remembered in love by his wife of 33 years Hiroko, his sons Bobby and Andy, Bobby's wife Alexis, and their daughter Ellie, Andy's girlfriend Amy, David's sister Cynthia, his brother-in-law Randy, and his niece and nephew Stacie and Andrew. He is also remembered by his in-laws in Japan, Setsuko Ohashi, Fumio, Yoshiko, Tomomi, and Yasunori Nakamura. His beloved dog Yuki will fondly remember the warm lap and constant attention David gave in his final years.

Big in both stature and heart, he never knew a stranger and charmed all those he met. We will miss his easy humor, his authentic nature, his smiling blue eyes, and his endless warmth.