David A. Aldrich

1947 - 2017

April 12, 1947 - January 16, 2017 Pancreatic cancer took the life of Dave Aldrich too soon. He and his wife, Toni, have been together since high school and recently celebrated 48 years of marriage. They have a wonderful family: son, David; daughter, Kelly, her husband, Jesse Miller; and two beautiful grandchildren, Nicholas (3) and Audrey (2), whom he adored. He is also survived by his sister, Liz Aldrich and brother, Jim Aldrich. He was preceded in death by his mother, Florence Aldrich; father, Donald Aldrich; sister, Nancy Dillard; and brother, John Aldrich. Dave was born in Newburgh, New York. His family moved to California when he was three months old. The eldest of five, Dave grew up in Concord, California, where he developed a love of baseball and was a star high school pitcher. Upon graduating from high school in 1965, Dave was drafted by the New York Mets in Major League Baseball's first ever amateur draft. But instead he decided to continue his baseball career at U.C. Berkeley. Injuries prevented him from making it to the pros, but his passion for the game continued as he rooted for the San Francisco Giants and, after moving to Seattle, the Mariners (but he was always a Giants fan above all). His greatest baseball wish was to see balls and strikes called by technology rather than umpires. As an adult, Dave's passion for social justice led him to become involved in many groups, sometimes as a leader, and other times as a critical voice of reason and principle. He prided himself in speaking "truth to power," which was always motivated by a strong sense to stand up for "the little guy," even if doing so ruffled feathers. Throughout his life he had many interesting jobs: computer programmer for RCA (back when computers were giant machines), middle school teacher, insurance adjuster, and accident reconstructionist. But he was most passionate about what would be his final professional endeavor: serving as an elected Commissioner for the Snohomish County Public Utility District. In this role he was proud to work with the rest of the Board to set environmentally and socially responsible policy. Dave was a music lover, an avid reader, and a prolific writer. He created The Snohomish Observer where he blogged about his thoughts and opinions on a multitude of topics, always challenging readers to think critically about the world around them. He was a good man and will be missed by all who knew him and loved him. The family will hold a Celebration of Life on Saturday, February 4, 2017 at 11:00 A.M. at the Snohomish County PUD's Auditorium (2320 California Street, Everett, WA), and invites people to join them in sharing stories about Dave. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you send donations to the Snohomish County PUD's "Project Pride" (c/o St. Vincent de Paul, P.O. Box 2269, Everett, WA 98213) to help families in need, or to the Evergreen Health Hospice Center (12822 124th Lane NE, Kirkland, WA 98034), whose staff ensured that Dave's final days were pain-free, peaceful, and dignified.