David "Dave" Edward Lange

Dave Lange died on February 29, 2024, peacefully in his sleep from complications of ALS, just short of his 63rd birthday. He was preceded in death by his parents Prof. Charles H. Lange and Elizabeth (Jean) March Lange. He is survived by his wife of 24 years, Carrie M. Cone, brothers Prof. Fredrick W. Lange (deceased March 17, 2024) (Claudia Sanchez-Lange) and Richard C. Lange (Christine Haney Lange) as well as his nieces Heather M. Lange, Kathy F. Lange, and Daniela V. Sanchez-Lange and nephew Hector Daniel Sanchez-Lange. He is also survived by our two most recent cats, Milagro and Pedro.

Born in Carbondale, Illinois, Dave attended the Brush School before the family moved to DeKalb, Illinois, where he graduated from DeKalb High School in 1979. He then attended Virginia Tech (aka Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University) in Blacksburg, VA, where he earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Forest Products, class of 1983. He later went on to earn a Master’s of Science in Forest Products Marketing and an MBA at the University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, class of 1986.

Dave’s earliest professional jobs included one with Electronic Data Systems (EDS), an American multinational information technology equipment and services company. EDS was a subsidiary of General Motors, at whose manufacture plant in Michigan Dave supervised quality control on the automated manufacturing lines that built both cars and trucks. He also extended his work experience at Duke City Lumber in Albuquerque, NM, where he had held an internship during his college years. Following graduate school, he accepted a position at the University of Washington’s College of Forest Resources in its Center for International Trade in Forest Products in 1988, where he later became the College’s first IT Director. After a few years, he moved to a System Administrator and Network Manager position in the Dean’s Office, UW School of Medicine, before finally resigning in 2012 and pursued a change in his career path. Dave then studied both construction management (UW) and cyber security (Edmonds College), and obtained numerous professional certifications and a short contracting gig with an IT consulting firm supporting research work on a U.S. Coast Guard Arctic ice-breaking vessel. In 2019 he and his wife opened an AirBNB business in Kenmore, WA, that Dave managed until his death.

Dave did extensive personal study in urban planning and transit, advocating in both the cities of Shoreline and Kenmore, WA, and throughout the greater Seattle area for rational and effective development of both transit systems and the communities they serve. Over the last decade of his life, Dave was deeply engaged as a volunteer activist in problem-solving work on community issues. For example, he worked with local activists on appropriate residential density, traffic management, and light rail access for mobility and livability. He co-authored an essay for international publication on the capacity limitations of the forthcoming Puget Sound light rail extension from Seattle to Lynnwood, WA, with evidence coming in his final months of life that his perceptively forecasting of commuting capacity problems are going to require buses to run in parallel to the train tracks on highway I-5 to meet demand. Unlike most citizens, Dave was not afraid to present his thinking to local officials, ranging from the Mayors, City Councils and Planning Commissions of the cities of Shoreline and Kenmore; the Sound Transit Board of Directors; and even to the Governor of Washington State. Dave also was active in the Facebook discussion group "Pacific Northwest COVID-19 Curiosity Group," where he provided to 600 members his analytical perspectives and trustworthy opinions on what to do to maintain wellness in conditions of uncertainty, influenced by public health policies and varying levels of personal responsibility. Dave's voice of well-informed, active citizenship is now missing in the public realm, but he leaves behind a legacy of engagement that will be remembered beyond his own time.

Dave was a decades-long member and officer of the Puget Sound Network User Group, which served computer network professionals throughout the state. He was the treasurer of the group for most of its existence and facilitated a final financial donation to Edmond College’s Cyber Security Program, when the organization disbanded in 2022.

Dave loved architecture, and he studied building systems as a hobby. He designed the layout of the house Carrie and he had built in Shoreline, WA, in 1999, as well as a few other “dream” homes. As they traveled, they often had to remind themselves to look at something other than the houses and buildings around them.

Dave also loved the great outdoors, enjoying time in the mountains, forests, and coastal beaches. During his lifetime, he enjoying skiing, hiking, camping and came to appreciate a good walk on the beach. He summited all the tallest mountain peaks in the Pacific Northwest’s Cascades, including Mts. Baker, Rainier, Adams, St. Helens and Hood, accompanied by his climbing buddy and long-time friend Michael Pederson. One of the adventures Dave took Carrie on was a small-plane ride and stay in a one-room cabin on Sheridan Glacier on Denali, in Alaska.

Thanks to the career paths of his parents and brothers, Dave had a deep appreciation of and interest in the Rio Grande pueblo peoples of New Mexico, especially those in the Santa Fe area. Cochiti, San Felipe, and Santo Domingo were among his favorites. He and his wife often attended pueblo ceremonial dances when visiting family in the area. They also enjoyed the food and terrain of the region, including exploring ancient dwellings. He even found a B&B created by dynamite in the side of a mesa in northwest New Mexico that they inhabited for a week while on vacation.

Before Dave and Carrie married, he was an aficionado of Pacific Northwest microbrews. Carrie was a Pacific Northwest wine lover. She came to appreciate a good microbrew once in a while, but Dave launched full bore into becoming a connoisseur of wines of the greater Pacific Northwest. They did a lot of wine tasting throughout the Pacific Northwest in their 24 years of marriage. His final tasting adventure was to travel to Idaho’s Lewis-Clark and the Snake River Valley AVAs to confirm that Idaho had come into its own as a fine wine producing region.

Dave loved to cook. He was known for his smoked pulled pork, which he smoked himself, and his vinegar-based sauces as well as his SW green chili enchiladas among other delicacies. He was often concocting new casserole-type meals for his lunches right up to his death.

Dave also loved music. Some of his favorite artists were the Austin Lounge Lizards, Enya, Nanci Griffith, Tish Hinojosa, and most of the 1960 and 1970’s American folk singers, including Joni Mitchell. Dave and Carrie’s first outing together was an Austin Lounge Lizards concert at the Back Stage, a music venue in Seattle. It wasn’t a date, per se, but it was a precursor to what would be a long and happy life together.

Dave will be missed by many. His wise insight, dry wit and sometimes dark humor endeared him to most everyone he met. He never ceased to surprise those who knew him well, often making them laugh. He cared deeply about people and their wellbeing.

A Celebration of Dave’s Life will be held on May 4, 2024, 2-5 pm, in the parish hall of St. Alban’s Episcopal church in Edmonds, WA. All are welcome.

Memorial gifts may be made in memory of David to the ALS Association of Washington State at https://www.als.org/