sweet auburn | 2021 volume i
Left : Pat Jacoby and Dave in 2018 . Above : Tom Cooper , Ann Roosevelt , and Dave in 2008 .
stewardship , sustainability , and integrity : all of which Dave stands for as a person . His allegiance to the staff , not only from a motivational point of view but also from a safety point of view , was manifest in the way he kept everyone safe and moving forward during the COVID pandemic .
TOM I personally was struck during the financial crisis of 2008 , when the Cemetery Endowment took a very big hit , how Dave was able to be a tough leader who safeguarded the organization ’ s overall health , but always with his eye on its biggest asset — the people .
PAT When he told the Board of Trustees he was retiring , he did so pretty matter-of-factly with a strong voice , but when he told the staff , his voice cracked and he teared up . So many on staff have been at the Cemetery for over 20 years : they really are like a family .
TOM He is very much in tune with the world of historic cemeteries as well as horticulture . Dave is just as passionate about the archives , the monuments , and the restoration and conservation projects of structures as about plants .
PAT Sustainability has been the focus of his whole life going back to his Ph . D . I think the Plan that means the most to him and that he sees as one of his most important legacies is the Climate Action and Sustainability Plan . Having the Trustees approve this Plan will be one of his final acts as President .
TOM I have no doubt that he will very gradually and gently bend us to his will and the Plan will be a wonderful one . Dave is nicely dogged in his pursuit of things he believes in . He ’ s willing to go to the ends of the earth , working very hard to accomplish them ; if it takes a couple extra days or lots of weekends , that ’ s what Dave will devote to it . hen the previous President of Mount Auburn , Bill Clendaniel , wanted to retire , I was
W about to be Board Chair and I was Chair of the Search Committee . At first Dave thought he wanted to be considered in the search but then he took himself out of it before it really got started . So we did the proverbial nationwide search with a national search firm , and we found out how difficult it is to find someone with all the different skills that are needed to run the Cemetery . After many , many interviews , we did not find anyone who was suitable . The Search Committee was going to have to open the search again , but before we did that , I asked the Search Committee if I could talk to Dave . After a very pleasant lunch , it became obvious to me that Dave was by far the best candidate we had interviewed . I will never forget that when Dave came to the next Search Committee meeting , expecting to be interviewed , the Search Committee started clapping . Dave was stunned , but the Search Committee had already come to its senses and seen that , after all those unsuccessful interviews , we had the perfect candidate right here . Over the years of Dave ’ s tenure , the decision by the Search Committee has proved to be providential . Dave has remade the Cemetery into the innovative , well-run place it is today . From cutting-edge horticulture , to a Strategic Plan for the future , to capital improvements to preserve our buildings , to putting the Cemetery on good financial footing , Dave has been an inspired leader . We will all miss you , Dave , but thank you for making Mount Auburn the extraordinary place it is today .
— Ann Roosevelt Mount Auburn Board of Trustees 1989-2020 Board Chair from 2009-2012
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