Rounds, David Atwater
d. March 25, 2019
Rounds, David Atwater
David Atwater Rounds - age: 76
(December 26, 1942 to March 25, 2019 )
Resident of UKIAH, California
Obituary:
David Rounds – husband, father, grandfather, Hotchkiss and Harvard alum, Yankee (thought not a Yankees fan), Buddhist scholar, lifelong progressive Democrat, journalist, editor, novelist, essayist, high school English teacher, composer, translator, and poet – died March 24, 2019, after 21 years with Parkinson’s disease. He was 76.
David, born in New York City to Stowell Rounds and Caroline Curtis Rounds, and raised in Wilton, Connecticut, graduated from The Hotchkiss School in 1960 and Harvard University in 1964. He thence moved to New York City to write his first novel. In 1965, he went on a blind date to the Metropolitan Museum of Art with Sue Ashley, who impressed him with her knowledge of Dutch painting. They were married on June 24, 1967.
David and Sue moved to California in 1973 to study Buddhism, and they both were active with the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association for many years. David taught English for the Buddhist Council for the Rescue and Resettlement of Refugees – a program for refugees from the Vietnam War. He worked with others to translate the Surangama Sutra, taught at Developing Virtue Secondary School, and served as Editor of the journal Religion East and West.
After some years full-time with the Buddhist association, David found work as an English teacher at Anderson Valley High School. A generation of students, his son among them, remember him as mentor, writing tutor, college admission coach, and initiator into the life of the mind.
A lifelong writer, David penned 2 novels, a book of children’s stories, books on the trucking industry and the string quartet, and numerous essays, poems, and musical compositions. Further giving voice to his love of music, he sang with the Ukiah Valley Madrigal Singers and Hesperia, and co-founded the Deep Valley Chamber Series to bring classical musicians to Ukiah.
He is survived by Sue, his wife of 52 years, his brothers John and Tom, his son Nathaniel, his daughter-in-law Allison, his grandchildren Benjamin and Eleanor, and a large extended family. His family and friends remember his integrity, sharp mind, kind heart, and memory for a staggering array of facts profound and trivial, long predating Wikipedia or Google.
The family would like to thank the staff of Canyon View Care Home for the compassionate and loving care David received in the final two years of his life. A celebration of his life is planned for this summer. In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
(December 26, 1942 to March 25, 2019 )
Resident of UKIAH, California
Obituary:
David Rounds – husband, father, grandfather, Hotchkiss and Harvard alum, Yankee (thought not a Yankees fan), Buddhist scholar, lifelong progressive Democrat, journalist, editor, novelist, essayist, high school English teacher, composer, translator, and poet – died March 24, 2019, after 21 years with Parkinson’s disease. He was 76.
David, born in New York City to Stowell Rounds and Caroline Curtis Rounds, and raised in Wilton, Connecticut, graduated from The Hotchkiss School in 1960 and Harvard University in 1964. He thence moved to New York City to write his first novel. In 1965, he went on a blind date to the Metropolitan Museum of Art with Sue Ashley, who impressed him with her knowledge of Dutch painting. They were married on June 24, 1967.
David and Sue moved to California in 1973 to study Buddhism, and they both were active with the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association for many years. David taught English for the Buddhist Council for the Rescue and Resettlement of Refugees – a program for refugees from the Vietnam War. He worked with others to translate the Surangama Sutra, taught at Developing Virtue Secondary School, and served as Editor of the journal Religion East and West.
After some years full-time with the Buddhist association, David found work as an English teacher at Anderson Valley High School. A generation of students, his son among them, remember him as mentor, writing tutor, college admission coach, and initiator into the life of the mind.
A lifelong writer, David penned 2 novels, a book of children’s stories, books on the trucking industry and the string quartet, and numerous essays, poems, and musical compositions. Further giving voice to his love of music, he sang with the Ukiah Valley Madrigal Singers and Hesperia, and co-founded the Deep Valley Chamber Series to bring classical musicians to Ukiah.
He is survived by Sue, his wife of 52 years, his brothers John and Tom, his son Nathaniel, his daughter-in-law Allison, his grandchildren Benjamin and Eleanor, and a large extended family. His family and friends remember his integrity, sharp mind, kind heart, and memory for a staggering array of facts profound and trivial, long predating Wikipedia or Google.
The family would like to thank the staff of Canyon View Care Home for the compassionate and loving care David received in the final two years of his life. A celebration of his life is planned for this summer. In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
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