In memory of my very dear friend David Donaldson.
David F. Donaldson
October 22, 1953 to Oct 30, 2011
David and I met in Junior High School in 1967. However it wasn't until High School that we became best friends. We spent so much time together that it was very common for us to finish one another's sentences.
We were each involved in separate activities - I was in the marching band and he was in the chess club - but we both got involved in student government, edited a school publication, and had a few classes together.
One of the most memorable times was a solid weekend we camped out in a classroom making and recording music with a bunch of friends. I was the recording engineer and David the creative backbone.
It was David's extraordinary creativity that I will most remember him for. He was also very smart and very generous. I wonder how many people considered him a best friend. I'll bet there were many.
After high school I went off to college at Ohio State and he stayed in Sunnyvale. Four years later I returned to the Bay Area and we resumed our friendship. In 1979 I met a woman named Margie and moved in with her a short time later. That Halloween we had a party and invited David and Margie's cousin Debbie. After the party it was three or four days before we heard from either of them.
Margie and I were married in 1980 and David and Debbie were both in the wedding party (David's appearance was a wonderfull surprise as we walked down the isle, because he told me he wasn't going to be able to be there). We were also in their wedding on June 29, 1985. We spent many weekends visiting one another and enjoying their great hospitality.
A few years later David started working at Apple as a contractor and got to test HyperCard, a new program to be released with the first Macintosh computers. He called me one day and told me this was the future of computing and that I needed to learn to program HyperCard. So I bought my first Mac computer in 1987 and taught myself some basic programming.
In 1988 David, Paul Foraker and Wayne Robertson started a company called HyperPro which put HyperCard to great use in creating multi-media programs for Apple and other fortune 500 companies. He invited me to come to work for them and in 1988 I developed my first business application (a hazardous materials tracking program) using HyperCard. To this day, I still use a derivative of HyperCard (Revolution/LiveCode) to develop business software which I sell on the Internet.)
Part of the time we worked together at HyperPro we used a big house as our office space. it was a great working environment and a great time of my life. David's creativity was again the backbone of the company, with Paul handing technical aspects and Wayne the business aspects.
On May 17, 1989 David and Debbie had a baby girl named Catherine. After HyperPro was sold in 1992 to another company, David stayed home to do various consulting jobs, and to be a stay-at-home Dad for Cat. He was a great, loving father who raised a great girl/woman.
In 1995 I remarried and moved to Sonoma County. Then in 1999 my wife Dayadevi and I moved to a ranch in Mendocino County. We maintained our friendship but rarely saw each other because of the distance between our homes.
Then in 2004 we decided to sell the ranch and buy a home and a motorhome in Oregon. This gave us the chance to travel a lot and we made a point of stopping to visit David, Debbie and Cat each time we passed through the Bay Area (about twice a year). We were always greeted warmly and treated to a great meal and a fun evening of games and reminiscing. This was often despite the great pain he was in, as he battled colon cancer for several years.
David was a great friend, a loving husband and father, an excellent graphic artist and chess player/teacher. He will be missed by all who knew him. Rest in peace David.
Debbie & David Franklin Donaldson & Catherine - Fremont, CA 2009
Love and blessings,
Garth Catterall