David John Gahm

Eagle River resident David John Gahm, 51, died Sept 21, 2008, of natural causes during a canoe camping trip on the Kenai Peninsula.
A memorial gathering of family and friends will be held Saturday at Community Covenant Church in Eagle River. Visitation will be from 2 to 3 p.m., followed by a celebration of his life from 3 to 5 p.m. All are invited to join his family at their home following the celebration.
Dave was born July 27, 1957, in Laurens, Iowa. Following a tour of duty in the U.S. Air Force, he moved to Alaska in 1979 to join RCA Inc. as a radio naval technician at Clear Air Force Base.
In 1981, he joined ARCO Alaska Inc. as a telecom technician, based on the North Slope. ARCO later assigned him to Anchorage as a telecom engineer, a position he held until 2001.
That year, he joined Alaska USA Federal Credit Union as a network systems engineer in Anchorage, and until the time of his death, was senior network systems engineer. In this position, he was responsible for the reliability of voice and data communication networks across the credit union's vast statewide system, which includes some sites in Washington state.
Dave held several network engineering certifications, among them the Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE), the highest network engineering rating.
"Dave's network engineering analysis and design have had a major impact on the stability and performance of the Credit Union's wide area network," wrote an Alaska USA Federal Credit Union senior manager. "His improvements enabled the expansion of the network to support new branch and office locations, supported the dramatic growth in member utilization of our electronic delivery channels, and resulted in unprecedented stability, reliability and performance of our entire network. Dave did an outstanding job in mentoring and training junior staff members, resulting in dramatically improved productivity of the entire department. He was a valued and respected member of our team."
"An avid outdoorsman," his family wrote, "Dave was a skilled hunter, both with bow and arrow and rifle, a veteran fisherman, and a skilled hiker, mountaineer, telemark skier, river rafter and canoeist. Dave shared his love for the outdoors with his family. Many great family times were spent floating down the rivers of Alaska or hiking in Alaska's backcountry. His love for the great outdoors did not end with just his family. He was always up for sharing his passion for the outdoors with anyone who was up for the challenge. Alaska was his backyard. Dave shared his love for hunting with his son, Jason. When his son Clinton earned Eagle Scout rank, Dave overflowed with pride. He took great pleasure in having his daughter, Abby, along as they earned their turns free-heeling in the knar-knar. Dave had a wonderful gift for enjoying life that we all will remember with fond admiration and try to replicate in our own lives.
"As a committed husband and loving father, Dave took pride in all aspects of family. He would beam as he watched his children participate in sporting events and school activities. He was always proud of his wife, Lee, as she helped further and improve the activities that make a family succeed. Dave welcomed all friends into his home, and was known as the neighborhood dog walker."
Dave is survived by his wife Leila "Lee" of Eagle River; two sons, Jason and family of Newkirk, Okla., and Clinton of Eagle River; his daughter, Abigail of Eagle River; two grandchildren, Damien and Alexandria; parents, Darline and John Gahm of Weiser, Idaho; two sisters, Cindy of Colorado and Debra Woods and her spouse, Terry, of Texas; and three brothers, Steve Gahm and family of Idaho; Michael Gahm of Georgia, and Doug Gahm and family of Arizona.
His family wrote: "Dave was a generous, loving and committed husband and family man who was dedicated to his work, his children and his outdoor life."
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a memorial fund at Alaska USA Federal Credit Union, account No. 1417369.