David Giles Maurer

1947 - 2016

Maurer, David Giles



David Giles Maurer passed gently into God's loving arms on Saturday morning, March 12, 2016. He was well received into that saving light by his parents, Dick and Joan, his birth-mother, Gwen; and his "little big" brother, Danny, who David so adored. David, nicknamed "Dave the Rave" (short for "Raven"), lived 68 years, and died as a true "philosopher king."



Born in Albuquerque on August 19, 1947, David grew up in a loving American military family that traveled and lived abroad before settling back in Albuquerque in the '60's.



Those early travel experiences infused David with a deep passion for art and architecture. Dave's other life passions were (in no particular order) fast cars, games, rock and roll, poetry, writing, and reading, and his family who he loves eternally. Besides his family, it is safe to say he had no greater love than he had for the game of baseball, which he believed to be the ultimate symbol for all things beautiful in life. David spent time as a youth, working at the family-owned "Maurer's Texaco" in northeast Albuquerque, where his affinity for fast muscle cars set in early. He graduated from Sandia High School in 1965. David proudly served in the U.S. Army from 1966 through 1972, and was stationed at Fort Polk, Louisiana.



David was married for five years to Donna J. Walker, and they created his only son in 1972, Lance David Maurer, aka "Lancelot" - his little boy eternal.



As David grew older, he became more and more enamored with the gestalt, religion, and the mystical world around him. He devoted his time to reading and studying philosophy, and genuinely loved being a part of the human race with all its weaknesses, fears, grace, and humility.



In his younger years, he considered himself a bit of a radical, perhaps not unlike the beatniks and "desolate angels." David always knew right from wrong, understood what was Sacred and Profane, and through it all, kept himself grounded deeply in his faith, which he learned from his loving mother, Joan, a devout Catholic. David knew what it was to tough through hard times, and learned, first-hand, the incredible power of forgiveness.



In his early fifties, he returned to UNM, graduating Cum Laude in 2003 with a BS in Psychology, with a specialty in drug and alcohol recovery; David always wanted to help his fellow man. Over the course of 35 years, David wrote volumes and volumes of masterful poetry and stories, in which he reflected his mind's eye of what it meant to be truly human and quintessentially American; simply stated, he was an American writer.



David leaves behind some sad but enlightened souls; his only child, Lance Maurer and his wife, Katie, parents of his granddaughter, Adelie Simms Maurer; his brother, Richard Maurer, father to Michael J. Maurer and his wife, Jaa, Christopher Maurer and his wife, Danielle, and Kathryn L. Maurer; his sister, Debbie Cooper, mother to Jeff and Joanna Cooper; Danny Maurer's widow, Diane Maurer, and their children Cody, Ginger and Gabby Maurer; and his partner of over 20 years, Susan Cassel, who loved him dearly and unconditionally to the very end.



David's Funeral Service is open to friends and family alike, and will be held at FRENCH - University, 1111 University NE, Albuquerque, at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, April 8, 2016. His ashes will return to the earth that gave them at Santa Fe National Cemetery later that afternoon, amongst close family only.



In lieu of flowers, the family asks you to consider a donation to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, www.centeronaddiction.org.

Please visit our online guestbook for David at www.FrenchFunerals.com.





"All those who were glad to know him laughed and cried right along with him And were made larger and greater than they might have been Because of that freely shared -- triumph, sorrow, genius and joy."

- David G. Maurer

FRENCH - University

1111 University Blvd. NE

505-843-6333