David Giles Saunders

Saunders, David Giles EAST GREENBUSH David Giles Saunders, of East Greenbush, died on April 28, 2014. He was born on March 15, 1937 in Wakefield, Mass., to the late Paul and Marjorie Saunders. He is predeceased by siblings Martha, Betty, Ocran and Emily. David graduated from Wakefield High School in 1955 and Harvard University in 1959 then received his medical degree from the University of Vermont College of Medicine in 1963. Following medical school, he continued his training with an internship at Beth Israel Hospital in New York City, where he met his wife of 50 years, Kathleen Kern. Upon completing his internship, David joined the U.S. Navy and was stationed for two years at Camp Pendleton in California. Following his service, he completed his medical training in Internal Medicine at Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse, where he served as chief resident in medicine. David maintained a private medical practice in Syracuse for thirty-eight years, in addition to working as a physician for the U.S. Army, and being the team doctor for the Syracuse professional hockey team. David and wife Kathy lived on a farm in the outskirts of Syracuse, where they raised seven daughters and numerous farm animals. He retired in 2004 and moved to Albany to be closer to his children living in the area. David was an avid singer his entire life, beginning with the Trinity Church Choir in Boston and continuing with the Syracuse Barbershop Quartet and the Syracuse Chorale. During the summers of his college years, he worked on the Mt. Washington Cog Railway in New Hampshire in various jobs ending up as an engineer. He was an avid history buff (he especially loved Civil War history), and also took great pleasure from opera, reading, watching sports and playing golf. He is survived by wife Kathy; daughters, Diane, Carol, Linda, Wendy, Jennifer, Jessica and Kimberly; their husbands; grandchildren, Jacob, Jackson, Max, Katie, Giulietta, Luke, Dylan, Isabel, David, James, Cassidy and Riley; siblings, Stephen, Carl (Joe), Paul, Vera and Al; and numerous nieces and nephews. Services will be private.