Dave's Obituary (Draft Copy)
As Tess and I dined on striped bass last evening (in rememberance of Bob Whitehead's lifelong love of fishing and his happy years of retirement on Lake Gaston), we reflected upon the bittersweet day he had experienced. We spoke of how Bob had carefully planned every detail of the events that were to follow his death, including publication of the obituary he had authored himself. Tess suggested that I might write one for myself. So, here it is:
Dave was born in 1946, the son of Goldie Octavia Mickey (Müche) and Lewis William Lineback (Leinbach/Leimbach). Of predominately Germanic ancestory, he had a lifetime interest in tracking his roots from their origins in the Hessian and Moravian regions of German-speaking Europe, through Pennsylvania during Colonial times, to the old Wachovia settlement in what is now Forsyth County, North Carolina.
As a child, Dave aspired to becoming a carpenter like his dear grandfather, Gilbert; a plumber/electrician like one great uncle, Charlie; and a dirt farmer and jack-of-all-trades like another, Earn; all with whom he spent many happy times at work and play during his youth. Alas, the nation needed technical professionals in the 1960's and he was doomed to become the first in his family to attend college, matriculating at N.C. State University where he earned Bachelor, Masters, and Doctor Of Philosophy degrees in science and engineering.
Despite his formal education, Dave was most greatly influenced in his way of thinking and living by his beloved fraternal grandmother, Fannie Sowers. Throughout life, he strove to be as independent in thought and unfettered in action as she.
Dave steadfastly maintained a lifelong ambivalence toward politics, interrupted only by strong opposition to the Vietnam War in which he refused to knowingly participate.
He and Tess, his high school sweetheart and the love of his life, married in 1967. Prior to the arrival of their first-born some nine years later, they greatly enjoyed their life together as a young couple. Subsequently, Tess became a wonderful full-time mother to their three children, Laura Denise, April Lea and Matthew David, and Dave was -- at best -- a part-time father, working as a wage-earner in the corporate world.
While having been involved with engineering design and development, manufacturing, marketing and sales over his career, it was writing about technology that brought Dave his greatest professional satisfaction.
The long list of Dave's personal interests included (among others) athletics (football, basketball and track in high school, along with racketball, golf and hiking later in life), oil painting, the early novels of John le Carré, gardening, carpentry, the use of computers in modern life, the music of Appalachia, and dogs. He also enjoyed playing the guitar but, unfortunately for all those in earshot, had no talent for it.
Dave lived in wonder of nature and the universe, and spent a lifetime attempting to comprehend them. Like all the others who before him had tried, he never gained a complete understanding of them and their purpose for being.
Upon the occasion of his death, Dave asked that no funeral or memorial service be held other than what might be required for the emotional well-being of his family. He requested that his children sprinkle half his ashes on the graves of each of his known ancestors both in Europe and America. He also asked that the remaining half be buried in the Elbert Crouse Family Cemetery in Alleghany County, N.C. and that a small stone be erected to mark their location. In accordance with his wishes , this simple monument of native Alleghany granite will bear only his name, years of birth and death, and the following ancient epitaph:
"Eram quod es, eris quod sum."
Dave requested that any financial contributions in his memory be made to the Yale University Depression Research Program where treatments are being developed for depressive disorders like those he suffered (as do one in every nine people) for many years.
This obituary is not intended for use in any newpapers or other publications. Rather, it was written for distribution to anyone who might inquire about him following his death. Being a work in progress, it is subject to change.
Dave was born in 1946, the son of Goldie Octavia Mickey (Müche) and Lewis William Lineback (Leinbach/Leimbach). Of predominately Germanic ancestory, he had a lifetime interest in tracking his roots from their origins in the Hessian and Moravian regions of German-speaking Europe, through Pennsylvania during Colonial times, to the old Wachovia settlement in what is now Forsyth County, North Carolina.
As a child, Dave aspired to becoming a carpenter like his dear grandfather, Gilbert; a plumber/electrician like one great uncle, Charlie; and a dirt farmer and jack-of-all-trades like another, Earn; all with whom he spent many happy times at work and play during his youth. Alas, the nation needed technical professionals in the 1960's and he was doomed to become the first in his family to attend college, matriculating at N.C. State University where he earned Bachelor, Masters, and Doctor Of Philosophy degrees in science and engineering.
Despite his formal education, Dave was most greatly influenced in his way of thinking and living by his beloved fraternal grandmother, Fannie Sowers. Throughout life, he strove to be as independent in thought and unfettered in action as she.
Dave steadfastly maintained a lifelong ambivalence toward politics, interrupted only by strong opposition to the Vietnam War in which he refused to knowingly participate.
He and Tess, his high school sweetheart and the love of his life, married in 1967. Prior to the arrival of their first-born some nine years later, they greatly enjoyed their life together as a young couple. Subsequently, Tess became a wonderful full-time mother to their three children, Laura Denise, April Lea and Matthew David, and Dave was -- at best -- a part-time father, working as a wage-earner in the corporate world.
While having been involved with engineering design and development, manufacturing, marketing and sales over his career, it was writing about technology that brought Dave his greatest professional satisfaction.
The long list of Dave's personal interests included (among others) athletics (football, basketball and track in high school, along with racketball, golf and hiking later in life), oil painting, the early novels of John le Carré, gardening, carpentry, the use of computers in modern life, the music of Appalachia, and dogs. He also enjoyed playing the guitar but, unfortunately for all those in earshot, had no talent for it.
Dave lived in wonder of nature and the universe, and spent a lifetime attempting to comprehend them. Like all the others who before him had tried, he never gained a complete understanding of them and their purpose for being.
Upon the occasion of his death, Dave asked that no funeral or memorial service be held other than what might be required for the emotional well-being of his family. He requested that his children sprinkle half his ashes on the graves of each of his known ancestors both in Europe and America. He also asked that the remaining half be buried in the Elbert Crouse Family Cemetery in Alleghany County, N.C. and that a small stone be erected to mark their location. In accordance with his wishes , this simple monument of native Alleghany granite will bear only his name, years of birth and death, and the following ancient epitaph:
Dave requested that any financial contributions in his memory be made to the Yale University Depression Research Program where treatments are being developed for depressive disorders like those he suffered (as do one in every nine people) for many years.
This obituary is not intended for use in any newpapers or other publications. Rather, it was written for distribution to anyone who might inquire about him following his death. Being a work in progress, it is subject to change.
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