David Hale Roberson

DAVID HALE ROBERSON, a resident of Old Greenwich, died on March 9, 2010. He was born in New York City on September 22, 1967, the son of Charlene Hale Roberson and the late John Royster Roberson. He graduated from Greenwich High School and received a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Master of Science in Space Science from the University of Houston at Clear Lake. From 1992 to 1996, he worked in mission control for the space shuttle program at Johnson Space Center in Houston as a dynamics and navigation controller. From 1996 to 2002, he worked as a specialist in U.S., Russian, Japanese, and European Space Agency technology compatibility for the International Space Station, and spent several months at mission control in Moscow. He created the first edition of the Soyuz/Progress Databook for the project. In 2002, he took a mission trip with his church in Houston to Croatia; his experience there prompted him to take a leave of absence for several months to return to Croatia and do ethnic reconciliation work at the Hope Center in Fuzine. He traveled throughout the Balkans and tried to absorb as many of the local languages as he could. In 2003, he returned to Greenwich and worked as a review editor for Manning Publications, a publisher of computer programming manuals. He devoted his spare time to writing science fiction. He was part of a writer's group in Greenwich and attended a six-week intensive workshop for fantasy and sci-fi writers in New Hampshire. He completed a novel for National Novel Writing Month. He also won an essay contest by the International House of Japan for a piece exploring pluralism and tolerance. He joined the staff of the Greenwich Oral History Project in 2005, doing copyediting, publicity, and illustrations editing. While living in Greenwich, David became increasingly interested in politics. In 2006, he turned his intense interest into action and became the campaign manager for Frank Farricker's bid for State Senate. They worked together the next year when Frank ran for First Selectman. In 2007, he was elected to the Representative Town Meeting, 12th District, and served two terms. In 2008, when Jim Himes vacated the seat as chairman of the Democratic Town Committee to run for Congress, David was elected to replace him; he served in the office until his death. He was chosen to attend the 2008 Democratic National Convention as a whip. David worked tirelessly for any and every Democratic candidate in the region, as well as the Obama campaign. David will be remembered as a selfless and indefatigable servant to the causes he believed in. He was also a devout Christian, was very active in his church, and participated in mission trips to Maine, Mexico, California, Mississippi, and Croatia. He was a voracious reader in a wide array of subjects and could converse on seemingly any topic. He is survived by his mother and his sister, Kathryn. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 2 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be sent to First Presbyterian Church, 1 West Putnam Avenue, Greenwich, CT, 06830.