David J. Coady

David J. Coady, 46, of San Francisco, died unexpectedly Thursday, July 21, 2011. David was born July 17, 1965, in Rockland, Mass. He graduated from Rockland High School in 1983. He then attended the UMass-Dartmouth. David was known for his gentle and compassionate nature as well as his quick sense of humor and irony. He had a great appreciation for his close friends, music, nature and animals. He was an earnest seeker of meaning and truth and in 2004 moved to Green Gulch Farm in Marin County, a Buddhist practice center in the Japanese Soto Zen tradition. In 2005, he moved to Tassajara, a remote mountain site in the Ventana Wilderness, and finally to the City Center in San Francisco in 2008, where he remained until his death. All three sites make up the San Francisco Zen Center (SFZC). He was ordained as a lay person in 2008 and given the Dharma name, Seizan Yushin (Blue Mountain- Courageous Spirit). He is survived and sadly missed by his mother and father, Frank and Sandra, Rockland; two brothers, Michael and wife Claudia Maisons-Laffitt of France and Stephen and husband James of Quincy, Mass.; one nephew, Alex; and one niece, Rebecca; and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins; dear friends; and his SFZC community. He was preceded in death by paternal grandparents, Patrick and Delia Coady, and maternal grandparents, Frank and Mary Fitzsimmons. Services will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011, at United First Parish Church Unitarian (Church of the Presidents), at 1306 Hancock St., Quincy Center. Revs. Sheldon Bennett and James Ford will co-officiate. Friends of David and of his family are all welcome. http://www.ufpc.org/contactus/directions.html. Donations may be made in David's name to the San Francisco Zen Center, http://is.gd/lsLWA7.