I would like to offer Dave’s family my sincere sympathy on their loss.

I first met Dave when he was transferred into my group during one of the many reorganizations we went through on the Hanford site. He turned out to be one of the finest engineers I had the privilege of working with. He will always be remembered as an excellent engineer, a valued employee, and most of all – a good friend. He will be missed by all who knew him.

It was with great sadness that I heard of Dave’s passing. I’d like to express my deepest sympathy to Dave’s family. If it is true that the better a person is, the greater the loss upon their passing, then surely this loss is deep: Dave was an extraordinary man.

I met Dave in 1978 when I began working at the N-Reactor Fuels Fabrication Facility at Hanford. I was fresh out of college, and some of my first work assignments required engineering expertise that was outside the scope of my chemical engineering training not to mention my absolute lack of practical experience. I was told that Dave might be willing to give me a hand, so I went to his office and sought his help.

It was my desire to learn about and truly understand what I was doing, not just to seek some cookbook approach to come up with a solution I didn’t really comprehend. I think Dave recognized this, and the natural teacher in him came out. Before long I found myself spending a good deal of time in Dave’s office. He would open his desk drawer and take out a variety of common items – a ruler, a stack of erasers, paper clips, perhaps some rubber bands – and proceed to demonstrate fundamental engineering principles in a way that was simple and astonishingly effective. I always left Dave’s office knowing more – much more – than I knew going in. It felt good to learn, and Dave’s desktop demonstrations were perfect!

But Dave didn’t just teach me about technical aspects of engineering. I remember one occasion when I told Dave about a design I was involved with, expressing my fear that it and I would fail. Dave listened patiently, then he smiled and asked if I’d noticed the exhaust stack on the top of the building. I responded that of course I’d noticed it – it was very tall and you couldn’t miss it. “Well,” said Dave, “I designed that stack. And you know what? Every time we have a windstorm during the night, when I come into work in the morning the first thing I do is look to see if it’s still standing.” With this simple example from his own experience, Dave let me know that he understood what I was feeling. I can’t begin to tell you how comforting that was to an inexperienced engineer. And, of course, no windstorm ever threatened the stack – it was designed by Dave!

I actually hadn’t seen Dave in the past several years. Although I live in Richland, our paths just didn’t cross. But I’ve thought about Dave on many, many occasions over the years. He truly was one of the most amazing individuals I’ve ever met. I’m sure you hear people talk all the time about Dave’s incredible engineering abilities. That is certainly true. But what I’ll remember most about Dave is the kindness, patience, and understanding he showed towards a young engineer just starting out. I will think of that often, and will always remember him as a teacher and a friend.

Unfortunately, I will be unable to attend the service on Thursday, but I wanted to write and let you know just how much Dave meant to me.

Again, my deepest sympathy to you and your family.

Barry Vedder

Richland

To Kirt and the Clem Family,

I want to express my sincere sympathy. God bless and take care of you during this time of loss.