David A. Rich 1954-2017

David Alan Rich was born November 2, 1954 to Wilbur “Joseph” Rich and Sarah (Mercurio) Rich. His father was the local barber in Martinez and his mother was from a prominent Italian family. David grew up loving to swim at the local pool, which was in walking distance of his home and he also loved the outdoors. When his “camping buddy” took off for college, he said, “Where am I gonna go camping?” His friend replied, “Check out the local Scout troop, they camp all the time.” And with that, his journey in Scouting was born. He was active in Troop 184 and after a few years formed Troop 382. Some of the “boys” from these units have stayed connected with him since those days. He was also active in the local Community Theatre and a charter member of the Martinez Historical Society. Community service was part of his spare time when he wasn’t working as a telecommunications engineer, a career he kept until retirement.

In 1983, with his parents retired in South Lake Tahoe, he bought a home and moved to Pollock Pines, half way between Sacramento and South Lake Tahoe. This way he could enjoy the Sierras, connect with his parents, and still have his job in the Sacramento area. But, a surprise was waiting for him.

In April of 1984, he met a San Joaquin County girl, Karen Kelley, and they were married in January of 1985. Then, one day in February, while celebrating Boy Scout Sunday and wearing his uniform, he met the local county sheriff who was the Boy Scout District Chairman. This gentleman helped him return to his love of the outdoors and he served in several El Dorado District and Golden Empire Council positions before taking on the duties of Cubmaster, then Scoutmaster when his son Sean was able to join his Scouting Adventure with him. David and his wife Karen “started their Scout Troop” in 1986 when Sean was born. In 1989, the family added a little sister, Tiffany, and David was extremely proud to show off his daughter to everyone.

But Scouting was not his only enjoyment. He added the Pollock Pines-Camino Community Roundtable and the Pollock Pines School Board of Trustees to his list. While President of the Community Roundtable, he helped the organization acquire a building and form the Pollock Pines-Camino Community Center. During his term on the School Board of Trustees, a new superintendent of schools was hired and a new school, Emigrant Trail, was built. The front of the school features a plaque listing his name; his daughter, Tiffany, while talking to a friend said, “That’s my daddy.”

As the years passed, David kept up his Scouting connections and added the Knights of Columbus to his “spare time”. He had always said that his faith was the greatest gift his parents gave him, so the Knights of Columbus was a natural fit. He later became Grand Knight of the Placerville Council (6322) and Grand Knight of the Amador Council (1849) as well as District Deputy for District 008 of California. The turn of the 21st century was very busy for him. His son Sean received the Rank of Eagle Scout in 2001 and in 2002 he and his wife Karen started their business, Sierra Morning Website Design.

Acquiring customers was difficult, but not impossible and David returned to his hometown of Martinez, by building a website for his high school class, Alhambra ’73. When the reunion was done, the dated material for the event was removed and left a rather empty website, so he added his love – history – to fill in the blanks. This love would expand to form AlhambraAlumni.org in 2009. Today this website holds 93 years of the Alhambra Torch and nearly 3,000 articles on the history of Alhambra, Martinez Unified School District and the people, places and things of Martinez. He also wrote many historical articles for the Martinez News-Gazette due to this historical research.

In 2017, at the annual award ceremony, David was honored with the Service without Borders award for his service in Martinez, El Dorado County and his legacy of the AlhambraAlumni.org website. It almost seemed that they had to invent this award for him. In June 2017, he “Delivered the Promise” to the Georgetown community when he formed the St. James Council (16751) of the Knights of Columbus and initially served as Advocate and Financial Secretary.

Sadly, November 22, 2017, he left our world to be with the Lord. But his service wasn’t yet finished. Thanks to the Sierra Donor Services, his corneas and his skin were donated to help other people. Two more people could see and dozens of people were helped with his skin.

Many of his friends still remember his mottos, “Deliver the Promise” and “It’s An Honor to Serve”. His wife Karen also remembers when he would answer the phone, talk to a fellow Knight and say, “So my brother, what can I do today to make you successful?”

View David's slideshow here