DAVID CIMA

We regret to announce the passing of David, son of Michael, father of Christopher and Donald Cima. He passed quietly at home early the morning of 28 January 2010 after a long illness. He is survived by his two sons and younger brother, Lawrence.
Dave moved to the area 30 years ago to become an Applications Engineer with Eltec Instruments, where he remained until recent health concerns forced a change. Prior to that, he'd worked in advertising as an account executive with firms in Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Buffalo. He earned many awards developing products and applications for companies such as ALCOA, PPG, and Borg Warner. He was a simple man of many interests and talents. His true passion lay in material physics where he was well read and widely published. He was a long member of SPIE, the Society of Professional Instrument Engineers. David was born at the end of May in Jennette, PA 1940. He graduated with honors from Notre Dame Sr. in Batavia, NY, earned his Associates degree at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and his Baccalaureate in English Literature from Canisius College. He met his first wife, Kate, while working on his Masters at Buffalo University. With a young son on the way, Dave took a job with Kistler Instruments where he met engineer Fred Otell, who would later form Eltec and woo him down from the chilly Windy City many years later. First, Dave would move to Pittsburgh to become an account executive for Ketchum McCloud & Grove. Dave was a fine technical writer whose broad understanding of materials allowed him to explain emerging technologies to a budding market. Here he would hone skills which would later make him a truly valuable addition to the small family of engineers at Eltec Instruments. Next, Dave was to work up through the ranks into larger and larger firms until again it was time for a change. The promise of the gentle trade winds, milder climate, and new challenge finally called him down to the Daytona area in the summer of 1979. He was greeted with a hurricane named in his honor and spent his first Labor Day in a shelter on the mainland riding out the storm. Despite the warning, he sank down roots and stayed until his death late January just past. He is survived by his eldest son Christopher, who owns a small business in Philadelphia, PA, and youngest Donald, a senior software systems engineer with Delphi Technologies Inc. residing in New Hampshire. Also, his brother Lawrence, who chairs the Economics department of John Carroll University and lives with his wife Judy in Mayfield Heights, OH. A Wake will be held Saturday, 6 February, from 3-5pm aboard the StarLite Princess berthed at 721 Balough Rd in Daytona Beach. Contact Christopher Cima at 386 254 4863 for more information.