David Burleson peacefully left our world on New Year’s Eve. David’s family thanks all who cared for him with such engagement. John Hudson DS51, his roommate during John’s first year at Deep Springs, shares that David contributed greatly to peace and it was a joy to have known him.
David (“Noel”) was a Deep Springer and London School of Economics Fellow with National Science Foundation and Woodrow Wilson grants. In preparation for a lifelong career in United Nations Diplomacy, David graduated with a Harvard Anthropology PhD where he also taught. David treasured his service as Associate Director of the Pathfinder Fund and as Visiting Professor of Social Anthropology with the Faculty of Medicine, University of El Salvador (funded by the Rockefeller and Pop Council). David reached many through myriad human rights programs and as UNESCO advisor to UNICEF.
David and Nan married in 1970. Nan stretched David to explore skiing and hiking many nature preserves globally. David was an avid swimmer and gardener on the beloved banks of the Mianus River where he and Nan loved to kayak with friends. He enjoyed making and sharing maple syrup for over three decades with his family and friends. David soulfully and tirelessly advocated for girls’ education and helped bridge divisions by being the change he wished to see in the world.
David was also an avid poet, saying:
I am ever grateful that my day’s daze is but a brief phrase,
When each night’s knight whispers some praise,
Then, I do believe I find quiet reprieve.
Thanks to his daughter Betsy who provided the material for this remembrance.