David Austin

David Elbert Austin died at the age of 80 on January 12, 2024, in Anchorage, Alaska after a hard-fought battle with cancer. He was born in Attleboro, Massachusetts on March 10, 1943 to Holcombe and Ethelind Austin, and trained as a classical cellist with undergraduate studies at Amherst College, receiving Masters of Musical Arts degrees from both Hartt College of Music and Yale School of Music. He moved to Chichagof Island in Southeast Alaska in 1979 with his wife Donna and family, joining a Christian community at Game Creek and raising their six children in this rural setting.

As a small-town Alaskan resident, David was a true Renaissance Man. He worked as a professional musician, music teacher, schoolteacher, band director, skilled luthier, church elder and deacon, sporting goods store owner, commercial fisherman, sawmill builder and operator, truck driver, and mechanic, to name a few of his many skills. He was affectionately known as Captain Two Hats because he often wore a knit hat over a baseball cap and was always juggling multiple responsibilities. For the last twenty years he owned and operated Tideland Tackle and Marine in Hoonah. He was a true entrepreneur who saw needs as opportunities. When the town lost its only bank, he brought in ATMs and figured out how to stock them with crowd-sourced twenties. When the local coffee shop closed down, he opened an espresso counter. When fishermen needed hydraulic hoses repaired, he learned that skill..

Music was woven throughout David's life.  He was well known both for teaching and for the classical cello and piano concerts that he played with Donna. He also performed with the Juneau Bach Society, orchestras in Juneau, Anchorage, and Fairbanks, and in many string quartets and ensembles in Alaska, Boston, and New York.

He is survived by his wife of 57 years Donna (née Carey), children Christopher (Michelle and grandchildren Michael, Victoria, Jonathan, Clarissa, Gabriel, Joshua), Sarah (Joel DiGloria and grandchildren Valerie, Anthony), Gregory (Leah and grandchildren James, Emma), Charity (Michael Grunst and grandchildren Caden, Chloe), Jeremy (Jennifer and grandchildren Dominic, Evelyn), Nathan (Danielle Butler), brother John (Nancy), sister Susan (Lawrence Ricketts), and many other extended family members. With never an unkind word, David lived Ben Franklin's quote "Well done is better than well said," and his actions spoke to all who knew him. A gathering to commemorate his life will be held in Hoonah, Alaska in the spring.