Note: The CCWA has quite a few new members and we have been looking for ways to help us get to know each other. We’re hoping to make “Who’s Who in the CCWA” a regular feature but we need your help. If you know of someone whose story should be told please pass their name and contact info along to the newsletter editor.

Local resident and longtime friend David F. Kelley passed away July 5, 2006, at his home in Corpus Christi, Texas, after a long illness. David was born on June 3, 1930, in Pasadena, CA, spent his childhood in California and New Mexico, attended Stanford University and was a Korean War veteran after serving in Japan. David worked as an accountant with Rockwell International for 40 years retiring in 1990 to pursue his life-long interests of hiking, tennis, windsurfing and enjoying more time with family and friends.

David was a dedicated family man who loved spending time with his children, grandchildren and extended family. A fun-loving and fiercely competitive adventurer, David enjoyed the challenge and the thrill of risk-taking. Friends and family alike will miss his wonderful sense of humor, charismatic stories and generous spirit. Preceded in death by his mother, father and a brother, David has two surviving brothers. David will be greatly missed by Ruth, his wife of 54 years, daughters Barbara Kelley and Diane Castleman, son Daniel and six grandchildren.

David was physically limited for the past two years and unable to windsurf. This did not stop his tremendous fund raising effort for the Padre Island National Seashore that resulted in contributions for improvements at Bird Island Basin. On Saturday, July 8, 2006, David’s family and many local friends attended a Memorial Service at Bird Island Basin followed by an open house given by Ruth and her three children.