Deceased December 23, 2019
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In Memory
Dave was born in Boise, Idaho, but grew up and spent his adult years in California. He came to Amherst with the class of 1953 and joined a U.S. Marine reserve outfit freshman year. The Korean War caused his group to be activated from 1950 to 1952; Dave rose to the rank of sergeant. Upon his return to the College in 1952, he affiliated with our class. While an undergraduate, Dave was in the Deke fraternity, majored in physics and was involved with the crew, cross-country, sailing and Christian Association organizations. His outstanding talents were on display in the pool, where he was the top diver on the swim team.
After Amherst, Dave returned to California and graduated from Stanford Law School. He settled in the East Bay section of metro San Francisco, where he practiced construction business law for 32 years. Dave represented contractors, owners, engineers and suppliers chasing money on construction projects. He also did estate planning work and arbitrated cases for local courts.
In the summer of 1954, Dave met Kay Gaskin, a sophomore at Mount Holyoke, on a boat to Europe. They were together for the rest of their lives, marrying in December 1955. The Van Hoesens bought a home in Orinda, Calif., and lived in it thereafter. Dave used his knowledge of homebuilding to put an addition on this house and to construct a cabin in Soda Spring, Calif. It was there Dave suffered a massive hemorrhagic stroke on Dec. 23, 2019, and died two days later. Dave is survived by Kay, their four children and their families.
Dave admirably served as our class agent for a number of years. Shep Sheppard ’55 remembers Dave as having a good sense of humor and being willing to step forward to help others.
Rob Sowersby ’55