David Areson

David Cristy Areson, of Riverside, CT, cherished husband, father, grandfather, brother, and uncle, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on February 18, 2026. David's life was filled with positivity, hard work, devotion to family, and an unparalleled sense of fashion.

David was born on March 23, 1949 and raised in Upper Montclair, NJ. He was the second child of Dr. Robert H. and Lois R. Areson, and brother to siblings Nancy, Peter, Paul, Sally and Susan. David graduated Cum Laude and Dean's List from St. Lawrence University in 1971 with a B.S. in Mathematics and a member of Pi Mu Epsilon (the U.S. Honorary National Mathematics Society). He earned an M.A. from what is now the Yale School of Management in 1973, where he graduated #1 in his class with degrees in Business and Applied Mathematics. He went on to earn a J.D. from University at Buffalo Law School in 1976 and an LL.M. from Georgetown University in 1980.

While earning his Master of Laws, David worked at the Internal Revenue Service where he helped write the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), landmark legislation that established minimum standards for retirement and health plans in the private sector. After graduation, he joined Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett LLP as an attorney specializing in Employee Benefits. David joined Citicorp Investment Management (now Invesco) in 1987, where he worked in financial sales for the next 15 years. During the final years of his career, David's team was the top producing sales team at Invesco and received the company's "Firemen's" award for their production. David was blessed to retire at a relatively young age in 2002.

While he achieved many professional accomplishments, David's top priority was always family. He met his future wife Nicole while studying abroad in France during college. They were married in France and then moved back to the U.S., eventually settling down in Riverside, CT in 1986 where they have continued to reside in the same home. David and Nicole welcomed their first child, Christopher, in 1981 and daughter, Elisabeth, in 1983. Of all the roles he held in his life, being a present and loving father was the most important to him. David was thrilled his children pursued careers in nearby NYC (his daughter eventually moving back to Riverside), and there was no one more excited to hear grandchildren birth announcements than David.

In the winter, you could find David skiing the slopes of Bromley Mountain wearing his trademark light blue winter coat. "They don't make them like this anymore," he would say. He was right: the jacket was gifted to him when he left for college, and the manufacturer is no longer in existence. In the summer, David would travel up to Truro, MA every weekend to see his family at the same property he frequented as a child. There were few places more special to David than Truro. As a teenager, he taught sailing at the Pamet Harbor Yacht Club and later taught his own kids to sail on an AMF Puffer in the Cape Cod Bay. David's personality as a salesman was never more on display than when he would solicit strangers on the beach to help him move the boat into the water. He never got a "no" that stuck.

When David was not sailing, you could find him surfing at Longnook Beach. Despite the Outer Cape's mellow surf patterns, David insisted on wearing a white protective helmet. David's helmet took on celebrity status in Truro, with its first sighting marking the start of summer. His loss will be felt far and wide. David is survived by his loving wife, Nicole, two children Christopher (Colleen) and Elisabeth Bothwell (Peter), and six grandchildren, Oliver and Harper Areson; McKinley, Violet, Bo, and Lacey Bothwell.

A celebration of life will be held at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Riverside at 10:30am on February 26, 2026 followed by a reception at Riverside Yacht Club.