David Augustus Haid

David was born in New York City on April 9, 1936, to William Haid and Elizabeth Montgomery. He had two older brothers, William and Michael, and a younger sister, Mary.

David graduated first in his class from All Hallows High School in Bronx, New York and attended Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey on a Union Carbide full scholarship. It was noted in the school newspaper that he was “active in the higher echelons of more Stevens activities than any other man in his class”. He was the President of the Student Council, managing editor of the school paper, President of Theta Xi Fraternity, President of the national engineering honor society of Tau Beta Pi, and a member of several other honor societies, committees and extracurricular activities. He liked to keep busy which resulted in him receiving the Kattwinkel Award for being the member of his class that gave most “unstintingly of himself to Stevens” as determined by the staff and his classmates. He graduated in 1957 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.

During the summers, David worked at the Linde Air Products Newark Development Laboratory. He continued to work for Linde Air Products in their Tonawanda, New York location while pursuing a master’s degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Buffalo. David worked for Linde Air Products, which turned into Praxair, until his retirement in 2001.

It was while David was in Tonawanda that he met the love of his life, Blanche J. Repetski. They married in late December back in 1963. They had seven children – Thomas, Rosalie, Joseph, Christopher, James, Daniel and Benjamin. His endless support for his children’s academics and various activities had him spending many evenings helping with homework, many weekends at swim meets and other sporting and extracurricular events, and on many phone calls guiding his children through life’s transitions. David loved his wife, his children, his children’s spouses and his 16 grandchildren. They all knew it and they loved him back. David and Blanche celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in 2023 surrounded by their family. It was one of many joyous occasions celebrated by a family that has always made it a priority to get together even though they all live far apart.

During David’s retirement years, he and Blanche pursued their shared passion for travel. They spent many years traveling overseas as well as visiting their children and grandchildren all over the country. In 2018, after 40 years in Westport, CT, they retired to warmer weather. They chose Palm Beach Gardens since it was close to their son, Daniel, and his wife, Michele. David greatly enjoyed visits from his family, and Dan and Michele opened their home to help make that happen.

David is survived by his spouse, his children, his children-in-laws, and his 16 grandchildren. He was predeceased by his parents and his siblings.

A funeral mass will be held on August 17, 2026, at 10AM at Saint Patrick Catholic Church on Prosperity Farms Road in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Interment will be in Westport, Connecticut at a date to be determined.