David B. LYNCH

Died peacefully in hospital on July 2, 2013 after a five-year battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He celebrated his 60th birthday two weeks earlier at a party with family and friends. David is survived by his son, Patrick of Santa Rosa, his life partner, Gay Barner of Santa Rosa, and his sister and mother, Cathy and Barbara of San Rafael. David moved to Sonoma County in 1983 to work for Hewlett-Packard, which became Agilent. David survived numerous layoffs at Agilent, only to be released after more than 20 years of dedicated work and loyalty. He was almost immediately hired back as a leased employee. After his son, David's great love was flying small aircraft. He built a Van's kit airplane, which took him more years than he would like to admit. When David's cancer was diagnosed in 2008, he said he hoped to survive long enough to finish his plane and fly it. He would work on his plane every night after work when his cancer was in remission, and he finished it in early 2012 just after his cancer returned in late 2011. He was by then too ill to fly it, but he got to ride in the rear seat with a friend as pilot. David volunteered with the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and its Young Eagles program and with the Comparative Aircraft Flight Efficiency (CAFE) Foundation. David played electric bass, stand-up bass, banjo, mandolin and fiddle in bands, jam sessions and festivals in Northern California. A memorial gathering will be held at the EAA Chapter 124 hangar at 5550 Windsor Rd near Sonoma County Airport on Saturday, August 10 from 1 to 4:00 pm.