DAVID SUMMERGRAD

Mr Summergrad was the interim principal at my school almost 10 years ago me and him formed a very strong bond over time. Mr S always had a nice thing so say. Recently I was looking for his contact information to try and reconnect however I was hit with the shocking and upsetting news. May god rest his sole. Fly high Mr Summergrad

Back in 1964, most adults in our family smoked. My cousin Dave was only 11, but knew this was bad. So he built a plastic model of the human lung and attached a lighted cigarette. Over time, with a puffing mechanism, you could see the plastic lung become "diseased" and discolored. I was 9 and my sister was 5, and the lecture he gave us ...and the adults in the room...had a big impact. My mother stopped smoking cold turkey ... and my sister and I never started. Even at age 11, he was an...

David was my second cousin, and we grew up only a few miles from each other in Glen Cove,NY. He was so popular, that I achieved a certain degree of “coolness” just being able to say we were related. My favorite memory of him was when he taught all of the kids on our YMCA bus the words to “Tie Me Kangaroo Down”, circa 1962.
We had lost touch over the years, but recently sent each other occasional messages on “23 and me”. I regret not traveling up to Massachusetts to get to know him as...

The lessons I learned from David during the three years we worked together at Explo created the foundation for the teacher I am today. His presence that was calm and reassuring, yet energizing and delightfully funny is something that I strive to embody. And likewise, he really walked the talk in his work to make the world a better place. I, like so many others, was so lucky to know him, learn from him, and experience his pure joy and passion for helping others.

I am so very sad and my son was part of summer ink enrichment program in high school, which got him into writing poems about his emotions and helped him overcome allot, thank you David for such a devotion of time of giving back to our kids and community! You will be missed and cherished deeply!

May God bless you and your family in this time of sorrow. We met only once for a Summer Ink event over 5 years ago now, but kept up an email correspondence for some time. We share memories and successes like getting into college, running marathons, studying abroad, fundraising efforts, mutual friends, and Summer Ink. I believe it says a lot about David that after one meetings, he decided to be a support and source of encouragement for years to come. Thank you for the work you did, I know your...