David Elliott
December 29, 1929 – April 16, 2017
David H. Elliott of Carmel and San Francisco died at home on April 16, his wife and family members by his side. He was a businessman who in the 1960s directed two of the largest Peace Corps programs overseas, first in Nigeria and then in India. He was 87.Born in Hempstead, New York, David moved with his family to San Mateo, California in 1938. He was the youngest of four sons of David and Esther Elliott. He earned his BA in Journalism in 1951 from Stanford University and his MBA from Harvard University in 1954.David met and married his first wife, Ellen, in 1958 and they raised three children together.
After he and a partner turned a bankrupt steel company in Vallejo, California into a small but profitable business, David took a sabbatical in 1964 to manage programs with the U.S. Peace Corps. He relocated to Sierra Leone with his wife and two young children. In 1965 he moved to Nigeria where he directed a program with over 600 volunteers. In 1966 he moved to India, where his third child was born, to manage what became the Peace Corps’ largest program with more than 1200 volunteers.
After returning to California in 1968, David became the Vice President of Administration for Memorex Corporation. In 1972, David joined Heidrick and Struggles, an international executive search firm and worked with them until his retirement in 1996. He became Managing Partner of the firm’s San Francisco office in 1974 and later was a member of the firm’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee.
David took another sabbatical in 1991 to re-join the Peace Corps, this time as a volunteer in Poland along with his wife, Ellen. They worked for two years with government and NGO’s to help the country transition from communism to capitalism. Along with his formal responsibilities in Poland, he made it his aim to make his Polish colleagues smile each day, making himself the object of humor if necessary. After his retirement in 1996, David continued to serve Heidrick and Struggles as an emeritus consultant and a member of its Cornerstone Society.
David and Ellen were happily married for 46 years until Ellen’s death in 2007. In late 2007, David had the good fortune to re-connect with Roberta (Bertie) Buffett Bialek. The two of them had dated in Chicago in 1954 but their lives then went in different directions when David was drafted into the Army. They fell in love and married in 2008, enjoying nine loving years together.
David enjoyed tennis, hiking, and kayaking into his 80’s. After his retirement he became an increasingly enthusiastic bridge player and in more recent years a student of dominoes, even dubbed “Rookie of the Year” in 2013 by his Old Capital Club mentors. In addition to the Old Capital Club, he was a member of The Monterey Peninsula Country Club and the Beach Club. He was a dedicated fan of theater, especially the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and an earnest student and lover of classical music and opera. He served on the boards of Environmental Traveling Companions, the American International School, Solano Steel Corporation, Elliott Control Company, Stanford Alumni Association, Stanford Associates and California Executive Search Association. He also enjoyed being a volunteer English teacher for the Marin Literacy Program and the International Institute of San Francisco.
David will be remembered for his generous spirit, his love of learning, and his good humor. He had a gift for making people feel like the most important person in the room. He maintained lifelong friendships from grade school, high school and college through poker groups, annual getaways and other regular gatherings. He delighted his children, nieces, nephews and grandchildren by eating fire after dinner, “removing” his thumb, and leading them on elaborate quests for buried treasure on the banks of Tomales Bay. His commitment to the Peace Corps as a staff member, volunteer and supporter inspired family members and others toward lives of service and a global perspective.
David is survived by his wife, Bertie; his children, Andy Elliott (Sunjong), Karen Elliott and Fred Elliott-Hart (Teri); seven grandchildren, Sarah, Johnny, Cole, Henry, Dylan, Paul and Sadie; his brother, Don Elliott (Janice); twelve nephews and nieces; three step-daughters, Susan Lansbury (Jim), Cynthia Livermore (Dick) and Carolyn Akcan (Zek); and eleven step-grandchildren, Charles, Robert, Galen, William, Thomas, Cadillac, Berkshire, Everest, Cascade, Rose and Peter.
A memorial service for family will take place in May. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the National Peace Corps Association, 1900 L Street, Washington DC 20036.
Condolences may be written to the family at
www.bermudezfamilyfunerals.com
Published in San Francisco Chronicle on Apr. 26, 2017
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