David G. Ebersole

He touched the lives of hundreds of Middle Schoolers in his 35 year career in San Jose, CA, teaching English and Drama. Every Christmas many dozens of cards, some from students of 30 years ago, still reached him. His energy, enthusiasm and pedagogic genius moved them and changed their lives.

David was born in Michigan, the son of Dr. Glen Ebersole and his wife Helen, the first of four children. His childhood was very happy, in rural Ohio, Cleveland, Buffalo, and finally Jamestown, NY, where he graduated from Southwestern Central High School in 1970. He attended Bard College, studying Drama. By his Senior year, as he recently recounted, he realized he would never be a professional actor, yet he brought the fruits of this study to his teaching, to the enrichment of hundreds.

David left New York and went west in 1974, pursuing his love of music. Already a good guitar player, he spent several years footloose and free, on the beach in Mexico, and then in Santa Cruz, CA, playing in clubs, open mics, and with pick-up bands, mostly country-western and rock ballads. To pay the bills he got a job in Early Childhood education as an assistant, and discovered the love of teaching that led to his future career.

He moved to San Jose and took up the work with Middle Schoolers in 1980, working especially with gifted children, including many immigrants from Vietnam and Latin America. He wrote and staged many productions, always hitting the right tone with this age group, notoriously difficult to reach. His creative writing assignments were inspired, awakening abilities in children that they themselves were unaware of.

David returned to New York, to Columbia University, where he studied and received his Doctorate in English, in 1994, returning then to his work in San Jose.

David’s first love remained his guitar, and in his extensive travels he always visited the best guitar stores, acquiring over 50 in the course of his life. He played both 6 and 12 string instruments, and became a master of the lap steel. He practiced daily, and indeed played with his band the last evening of his life. Here as well he knew joy and brought joy to many others.

Summers in California David worked at wineries in the Napa Valley as a sommelier. His knowledge of wines was expert and exhaustive. He gathered a collection of great wines.

David was also a master photographer, up at dawn on his many trips through the mountains, parks and deserts of the West, to catch the best light. He served as the photographer at many special events at his school.

Whatever David took up, he seriously dived into. Airplanes were another such interest. He visited the air shows in Reno, Nevada, for many years, and after retiring back to Western New York he became a docent at the Air Museum at the Air Force base in Niagara Falls.

In 2015 David retired and bought the house in Alden, spending his time with family in Jamestown, around the music scene in Buffalo, and at the Air Museum. He made regular, months-long trips back west, having lunches and dinners with many of his former students and colleagues. He was blessed to live a full and active life to the last.

David is survived by his mother, Helen, his sister Kate, both living in the Jamestown area, brother Mark and his wife Maria in East Aurora, and his two nieces, Katie and Jane, of Buffalo and Boston, respectively, as well as many loving cousins across the US.