David R Campbell , VRHS Class of 1955
David Campbell died in the early hours of September 24, 2023, at home in Beaverton, Oregon. Dave was born on February 7, 1938, in Albany, NY. He was the second of four children born to William Leo and Elizabeth Ruth (Kilcauley) Campbell. The four siblings were raised in Rensselaer, New York. He had wonderful friends, had adventures hunting squirrels and found joy in outdoor chores. He lived directly across from Rensselaer High School and although he liked school, he was never on time and managed to be marked tardy 60 times in one year. Dave's most cherished memories were of the family's camp at Burden Lake where he discovered his love of fishing, boating, and swimming. Dave was marked by his strong mind, strong faith, and a strong belief in education as a tool for success. A man of many interests, he loved learning. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Physics from Siena College, in Latham, NY in 1959. He entered the graduate program in Physics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, completing a PhD thesis, "Thermal Mass Transport and Electromigration in B-Zirconium," in June 1967. During his undergraduate education, he met Barbara Daley, introduced to him by his lab partner. They began dating and married on September 3, 1960, at St Joseph Catholic Church, Cohoes, NY. Their first home was in family student housing at RPI, where three of their four children were born. Dave began his career of 25 years at IBM, starting at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, NY and retiring as Thin Films Manager from IBM's East Fishkill, NY facility. After moving to Yorktown, Dave and Barbara added a fourth child to their growing brood. He published on the fundamental properties of materials critical to the development of computer chips. His job made no sense to his young children, but two of his daughters later followed him into the field anyway and may now understand what he did for a living. Dave continued his career and moved to Potsdam, NY to expand the capabilities of the Center for Advanced Materials Processing at Clarkson University. Dave embraced service in his community as a member of the Jaycees and as a volunteer in Civil Defense. This meant his children witnessed the Soap Box Derby and there was always a Geiger counter in his attic for them to wonder at. David loved his wife and family deeply, building them a tree house, coaching their teams, taking them camping, sailing, and chopping wood to keep them warm. He prioritized his children's education at Catholic schools and provided for college. Always industrious, he fixed his own cars, and finished his own basement with two bedrooms, and a large family room fit for frequent entertaining. He was very generous with his time and love. No one in the family was surprised when he finally retired from high-tech, moved across the country to Portland, OR to be closer to his grandchildren. He dove right into #grandparentslife in Portland. He was always on the go, making the grandchildren a breakfast that would have fed the Vikings, attending music concerts and sporting events, coaching CYO lacrosse, and tutoring in physics. He taught them there is always room for vanilla ice cream. He wondered at life and embraced technical experimentation. For a fun side gig before side gigs were a thing, he etched patterns in glass with dichroic coatings for artists and developed gadgets to test the optimal water temperature to catch fish. He did not, however, catch fish, though he spent many happy days in his canoe in search of them. Always active in parish life, Dave and Barbara could be found at the Neuman Club at RPI and later Clarkson University. They were active in the Catholic Family Movement and Marriage Encounter at St. Patrick in Yorktown. In Portland, at St. Pius X, which he and Barbara jokingly referred to as their country club, he was a member of the 4th degree of the Knights of Columbus. He never missed mass, followed by a cup of coffee, even while on vacation, which was usually canoeing on Lake George, sailing on Sacandaga Reservoir, or camping at Fort Stevens. Dave was inseparable from his wife of 63 years. When Barbara had a stroke 10 years ago, Dave became a full-time caregiver. He showered her with love and took over all the aspects of her care, nurturing his love for cooking including making sandwiches, cheesecake, and Barbara's amazing meatballs. An aside, Barbara will tell you that even her Italian American friends in New York agreed her meatballs were the best they ever tasted. He kept that tradition of food and family alive and continued to keep their home a center for dinners with family and friends. In the last few years, Dave began to show signs of Alzheimer's dementia, and he and Barbara went into the loving care of Raleighwood Senior Care Home. Despite this grievous disease, he still was a master of complex vocabulary that would have put the SAT on notice, and his brand of subtle humor was frequently on display. Although his mind betrayed him, he never wavered in his devotion to his family and especially his wife Barbara. His only request for hospice care was to be with her. On his passing, David left behind the secret to a happy life. It was found on a handwritten card neatly folded into the recipe box he created from the years he took on meal making and party throwing for their family. "Mom's Meatballs, From the Kitchen of Barbara, 1 lb Hamburger, ½ cup breadcrumbs, ¼ cup of shredded parmesan, 2 Tablespoons parsley, ½ teaspoon of salt, ¼ teaspoon of pepper, 1 egg, minced or powdered garlic, Mix together, brown in the pressure cooker, don't need onions." He is preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his loving wife, Barbara, four children and their spouses, Anne and Andrew Miller of Tualatin, OR, David Campbell and his wife Patricia of Guttenberg, NJ, Andrea and Peter Oehler of Beaverton, OR, Pamela and Michael Kirwin of Vero Beach, FL, three siblings, William Campbell, Cynthia O'Sullivan and her spouse Dennis, Ruth Clements, nine grandchildren, Patrick, Kathleen, Mary, Nate, Sean, Wyatt, Jake, Finn, Coco and two great grandchildren, Kae and Lily.