David Greer

1931 - 2019

David Greer
May 1, 1931 - May 17, 2019
Resident of Albany
Dave grew up and attended schools in Gloucester, MA. He also sailed and raced small boats out of Conomo Point on the Essex River. Here he acquired a life-long love of Hog Island and the surrounding marshes and hidden beaches of the Essex Bay area.
During his college years he worked on the Cape Ann Summer Sun, a local weekly. In 1953 he was graduated from Yale University and went to work on the Gloucester Daily Times. In 1955 he drove to California with his wife and baby daughter, found work on the Berkeley Daily Gazette, and moved to that city.
Dave later became a high school English teacher who taught and subbed in high schools and country institutions. In the late 1960's he went to work for Mandrake's, a night club featuring top bands in many fields. He ran the door and supervised the bands, eventually becoming a partner in the club.
For years Dave was active in the civic affairs of Albany, CA, his home city in the San Francisco Bay Area. He was particularly proud to have headed a campaign which saved the street tress in that city. Dave had a sharpening business, and for years reported for The Journal, a local weekly in which he also had a column.
An avid jazz fan, Dave was deeply involved in the revival of traditional jazz which flowered in the Bay Area. He nevertheless returned to Gloucester in the summers to help his parents with maintenance of their estate. He also sailed small, fast sail boats off Coffin's Beach and so returned to the beaches and marshes of the Essex Bay area he had known and loved since he was a boy.
Following the death of his parents in the early 1980's, Dave rebuilt his mother's one room artist studio into a house suitable for renting in the winters. He and his family lived there in the summers while continuing to improve the property. He dug a deep well, added a septic system, and created a large parking area by filling a massive declivity. He also added a shed for storage and a work shop.
Grown too old to make the trip East, Dave wrote a book on instructions on a wide range of topics for his two young granddaughter, Grace and Faith. This book has many photographs and was privately printed. Dave also wrote a book of poems with pictures which was privately printed.
Dave is survived by his son, Dixon Greer, a daughter, Laura Greer, granddaughters Grace and Faith Greer, and Kazue Coon, as well as great grandchildren.


View the online memorial for David Greer