DAVID MANN TRILLING

TRILLING, David Mann Of Lexington, MA, passed away on August 8, 2024, age 84.

Son of Hyman Samuel Trilling and Edith Rieva Mann Trilling, David was born on November 27, 1939, in Boston. He graduated Newton High School and Tufts University. After receiving his doctorate in microbiology in 1967, also from Tufts, David became a staff fellow at the National Institutes of Health, in Bethesda, MD, and later at the New York State Department of Health.

His research, published in journals including Science and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, focused on the transfer of genetic information between animal cells and the mechanisms of interaction between cells and oncogenic DNA viruses.

In the early 1970s, David joined his family's frozen food business, Boston Bonnie, Inc. He applied his dedication and work ethic in this field as well, securing a patent in 1975 for a new process to make onion rings. Combining his knowledge of microbiology, chemistry and industrial techniques, David repeatedly invented products that earned his employers hundreds of millions of dollars.

In 1983, he saw an advertisement in Frozen Food Age for a research and development expert in New Zealand and, on a whim, applied. He and his wife, Jane, followed their spirit of adventure to the Land of the Long White Cloud, where David worked for the largest seafood processer in Australasia at that time.

He adored seafood, insisting throughout his life - whether buying cod fillets by the ton for his company or sea scallops by the pound for dinner - that he smell the product.

In the 1990s, in Wisconsin, David created the Jalapeño Popper appetizer - now a staple bar food around the world. Later in Florida, he specialized in shrimp products.

A devoted father, world traveler and animal lover, David, upon retiring, pursued a lifelong dream and learned to fly. Rather than "just burn holes in the sky," he put his new skills to work, flying ailing patients to medical treatments that they otherwise couldn't access. He flew 177 missions around the southeastern U.S. with the Angel Flight program, the local chapter of which recognized him in 2013 as Pilot of the Year. He also shared his passion by becoming a certified flight instrument instructor. Rated on multiple aircraft, he instructed students for over 1,000 hours. His favorite part, he would say, was enjoying the thrill when a student "catches the magic" and solos for the first time.

After 22 years in Florida, David and Jane returned to the Boston area in 2017 to be near family.

David is survived by his wife of 51 years, Jane Sturdevant Camm Trilling; children, Todd, Sarah, David S. and Jill; five grandchildren and one great-granddaughter; his brother, William and sister, Carol. Services were held privately.

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