Myles D. Sclair's Obituary
Dave Sclair
January 12, 1938- July 26, 2011
Dave passed away peacefully with family by his side, sharing stories. Dave was born and raised in Bangor, Maine. He moved to Iowa, as he often said, "to find Mary Lou". He married Mary Lucille Craig on November 20, 1958. She was by his side when he took his last breath. In between, the two moved to New Mexico (briefly), Texas, Oklahoma, and found a home in Washington State. At each stop along life's path, two themes champion all others: newspapers and community service. Dave worked at, managed, or owned community newspapers everywhere he and Mary Lou settled. In 1966, he added pilot to his resume. In 1970, at 32 years of age, Dave and Mary Lou bought Northwest Flyer (now General Aviation News), from Jack Brown, moved to Spanaway, Washington, and found their new home. A five-year stint as owners/publishers of The Suburban Times (1975-1980) cemented his presence in the greater-Lakewood area of Pierce County. Dave and Mary Lou moved to Steilacoom in 1993. Dave served faithfully in many organizations. Chief among his many interests was Rotary. Dave served as President of the Clover Park Rotary Club (1988-1989) and then as Rotary District 5020 Governor (1998-1999). In addition to Rotary, Dave served for Chambers of Commerce, St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Lakewood and Steilacoom Historical Societies, and Bethel School District board. Living 23 years on a residential airpark led to the creation of Living With Your Plane, a database of airparks nationwide and collection of information and best-practices that helped advance the lifestyle of pilots "living with your plane". Dave is survived by his wife Mary Lou, daughter Robyn, son and daughter-in-law Ben and Deb, grandchildren Savannah, Brenna, and Jack, and sisters Fran Goldberg and Sylvia Weinberg (both of Sarasota, Florida). A memorial service will be held at St. Mary's Episcopal Church (10630 Gravelly Lake Drive SW, Lakewood, WA 98499) on August 9 at 2 PM. Please, donations only to: The Rotary Foundation http://www.rotary.org/en/Contribute/Pages/ridefault.aspx, the Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association Foundation http://www.aopa.org/foundation/support.html, the Lakewood Community Foundation Fund http://www.lakewoodfoundation.org/index.php?q=Donate, or the Experimental Aircraft Association Young Eagles https://secure.eaa.org/development/index.html.
Arrangements by Mountain View Funeral Home.
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