End of an Era...

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   I was informed on Christmas Eve
that long-standing LJ'er David Mitchell/Patron
is no longer with us.
He passed away quietly in Hospice Care
in Santa Fe, New Mexico December 15, 2022.
I met him on-line, in that woodworking community,
and began to exchange innumerable E-mails
sharing not only wood related ideas
but also discussing Life, the Universe, and Everything
we became Friends...

When his Brother Joe Passed away
David told me of a little bit of Land he was selling
that he had built a small house on for Joe...
The price was VERY low!
I had  to see it for myself...


Two tight (from the wind) rooms
with NO amenities, not even water...
The 2013 trip allowed he and I to work together
raising the first wall of his Shop


When Debbie and I bought our House in 2015
David came to Concord to see it
and work on it in a whirl-wind five day visit...


In September of 2018
David and I worked together again here in Concord
on a collapsed stone foundation





We met again in 2019
and continued to text and occasionally call
I spoke with him last at the end of October...


The Patron's tagline was,
"If you want to make Friends,
you gotta be friendly"
a thought I'm very fond of
But I've always found that real Friendship
can't be pursued
True Friends enter your Life unexpectedly
and sadly, leave the same way...

It's sad that David's passing will go largely unmarked
and he will never get credit for his psychedelic work
at the Record Studio and Trident Restaurant in California
It meant a lot to him, and he was actually in discussions
with the "new" owners of the Trident,
about finishing the work he began there...
Regrettably, the Talks stalled....

Anyway, I know that he was Friends with many of you too
and I thought some would like to know...
He was the even older, Older Brother I never had
and I (we) will miss him
Rest in Peace, David

3 January 2023 


 

Mike, in Concord, NH - A candle loses none of its flame by lighting another candle...

14 Comments

Thank you for sharing this.  
Thanks for that Mike. I know he's looking down and appreciating a heartfelt, unofficial eulogy.

Darrel

thanks for sharing this.
i wonder if martin could create a memorial here like the one on LJ'S so these members arn't forgotten. ive seen some here that i know are already gone.

working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.

Thank you for sharing this news and your story. I always enjoyed seeing what David was doing. 
We'll miss him.

Andy -- Old Chinese proverb say: If you think something can't be done, don't interrupt man who is doing it.

Well, rats. RIP, David.

Steven- Random Orbital Nailer

May he Rest in Peace.

Main Street to the Mountains

From my dealings with David, and I met him via a conversation I had with De Goose (AKA Larry Makin) here in Brisbane Australia many years ago.
That conversation led to communicating  quite often and included a string of friends like Little cope and all of his close friends he found when he became stranded with a car full of tools.
His background was quite "unique" and showed if you pull yourself out of a spiraling downhill tend you can definitely recover and make a better life for yourself.
It was with sadness I heard of the death of his daughter Said, however I was not aware he also lost a brother as well.
Recognition:-
If it was possible I would have to label him with an honourary  "Little Auzzie Battler award.
A most inspiring man, and somebody "I just met on the internet"
 

Regards Rob

Thank you for the writing about David. Only met him on LJ and was always warmed by his kind words and almost lyrical writing style. I got the impression that he was a hard working man even at old age and gave a lot of attention to the well being of others

"The good chair is a task one is never completely done with" Hans Wegner

I just came across this.  So sad to hear.  
Not many had a heart the size of Patrons.
He did so much for so many, whether he knew them a lot or just a little.
RIP

Figuring out how to do something you have never done is what makes a good challenge.

I'm sorry for missing this earlier.

He was 1 of the good guys.

I remember when he was traveling east to somewhere, and his car broke down in Indiana.

The whole community teamed up to make sure he was helped. 

You don't always get what you go after,but you do get what you wouldn't have got if you didn't go after what you didn't get. Blaze Foley

I'm glad to hear David remembered so fondly
he was all that has been said and more
Thank You all kindly for your warm words...  

Mike, in Concord, NH - A candle loses none of its flame by lighting another candle...