David Larson

1940 - 2022

David Larson
December 17, 1940 - November 4, 2022
Dr. David Andrew Larson, PhD, MD, passed away on Friday, November 4, 2022 while surrounded by loved ones at his home in San Francisco, California.

David, who was better known to friends and family as Dave, Dad, Grandpa, Davo, Dadee, DL, and "Dr. Laaarrson" (sung in an operatic melody), was born on December 17, 1940 in Astoria, Oregon to Francis "Vaunee" Larson and Andrew "Warren" Larson. When Dave was two, Vaunee and Warren moved their family to El Cerrito, California, where Dave and his siblings, Neil, Lora Beth, Mary Lou and Vaunee Ann, spent their childhood years.

As the son of two schoolteachers who strongly emphasized the importance of education, Dave developed an affinity for learning and rigorously pursuing all that he found interesting. During his senior year at El Cerrito High School, Dave became fascinated by the study of physics, and immediately decided that he wanted to pursue a career in the field. After graduation, Dave enrolled at UC Berkeley where he majored in physics, was an honor student and received a commendation as the top physics student in his class. Dave went on to Columbia University on a fellowship to study astrophysics, spending a year there before transferring to the University of Chicago where he obtained a master's degree in particle physics and a PhD in high energy physics. For his PhD, Dave's "otherworldly" intellect came to good use as he designed and carried out an experiment that resulted in constraints being able to be placed on theoretical models for the observed distribution of pions detected in the earth's atmosphere from particles from outer space. After completing his PhD, Dave joined an experimental elementary particle physics group at Cornell and Harvard where he worked long hours for the pure pleasure of conducting scientific research.

Although Dave loved his physics work, after seven years at Cornell, he decided to pursue a new career in medicine. He was accepted into an accelerated medical school program reserved for a small number of highly motivated PhDs at the University of Miami School of Medicine. Dave completed medical school in just two years, and in his final year he fell in love with radiotherapy.

Dave returned to the West Coast for the first year of his residency at the University of California, San Francisco where he met his future wife and stepson, Susan and Jeremy. Dave spent the remainder of his residency at the Joint Center for Radiation Therapy at Harvard in Boston where his son, Colin, was born. Ultimately, Dave rejoined the faculty at UCSF as a full-time physician and Professor of Radiation Oncology back in San Francisco where he had his daughter, Whitney.

Dave would spend the next four decades focusing his practice primarily on the treatment of brain tumors, leading the field of radiation oncology and pioneering some of the country's first radiosurgery programs. Dave spent 34 of those years at UCSF, serving as the head of numerous clinical programs and associations including as President of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) and President of the International Radiosurgery Society, lecturing around the world, and receiving many awards for his work, including ASTRO's Gold Medal, the highest honor in his field. Dave finished his medical career as the medical director of the Gamma Knife Program at Washington Hospital in Fremont, California before finally retiring in 2020.

Notwithstanding Dave's many professional achievements, Dave always remained humbly focused on the aspect of his work he found most important and fulfilling - helping to treat and save the lives of thousands of patients battling cancer, and teaching future generations of doctors to do the same. Dave's contributions changed the field of medicine, a legacy that will continue for all time.

Dave had as much energy and enthusiasm for life outside of work as he had for his remarkable career. Dave was known for his countless backpacking trips in the Sierras, trekking in places like Alaska or to the base of Mount Everest (twice!), completing long distance runs throughout the Bay Area, and skiing double black diamond slopes around the world.

Though his life was filled with such accomplishment and adventure, Dave always maintained that his greatest pride was in his family. To his kids, Dave was the "greatest dad in the whole wide world," always loving and supportive, and never ceasing to come up with some fun and novel activity like snorkeling in the Sierras, chiseling quartz crystals from the hills of San Mateo, investigating tide pools for sea anemones in Half Moon Bay, or skinny dipping in icy lakes while backpacking in Desolation Wilderness. Dave was the dad that led every school trip, living by his belief that the greatest investment he could make was in his children's education, and frequently telling his kids – with a beaming smile – that he was so proud of them that "his buttons were popping off of his shirt." Dave passed down to his kids the values that he lived by – to be a person of integrity who is kind to others and forever humble.

Fitting for Dave's remarkable life was an equally remarkable love story. In 2009, Dave met internationally acclaimed opera singer, Zheng Cao, one of his patients who was projected to have only six months to live. Despite Zheng's prognosis, it was love at first sight, and the two married in 2010, their love helping Zheng to live for four years more than her cancer should have allowed.

Zheng passed away in 2013, but remarkably Dave again found love with Connie McCole, whose love, support and companionship was a source of tremendous joy and comfort for Dave up until his passing.

Dave is survived by his children, Whitney, Colin and Jeremy; and grandchildren, Amalia, Annabelle, Max and Xavier – all of whom remain in San Francisco as a tight knit and loving family, thanks to Dave.

To all those who knew Dave, they knew of his many endearing qualities – though what he will be remembered for most is his tremendous and "goofy" sense of humor. In that spirit, a gathering will be held to celebrate Dave's life with fun and laughter on what would be his 82nd birthday, December 17, 2022 in San Francisco. If you knew Dave and wish to attend, please contact CelebrateDaveLarson@gmail.com">CelebrateDaveLarson@gmail.com by December 6, 2022.

Dave's family requests that any remembrances be made in the form of charitable donations to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (https://give.michaeljfox.org), or The Zheng Cao Merola Opera Endowment Fund (https://merola.org/zhengcao). For assistance with donations, please contact CelebrateDaveLarson@gmail.com">CelebrateDaveLarson@gmail.com.