David Edward Livingston, the eldest child of Gertrude and Edward Livingston, was born in New York City on August 28, 1921. His three surviving sisters, Lois, Joan and Martha, remember him as a warm and loving brother who could always bring a smile to the face of anyone who knew him. His fourth sister, Barbara, passed away seven years ago.
David and his sisters grew up in an upstairs apartment above his father's medical office on New York's upper west side. David attended Hunter College, a college prep high school, and in his sophomore year was sent off to New York Military Academy on the Hudson River in Cornwall, NY, from which he graduated with honors in 1940.
During WWII, David served as a medic in the army in North Africa and Italy, and on his return after the war he attended New York University. While living at a Christian community called Calvary House, he met and fell in love with Dorothy Dotzauer, a young college-educated woman from Cincinnati, Ohio. Soon after their wedding in 1948, the couple moved to study at a Friends college in Oskaloosa, Iowa, and then to Dakota Wesleyan in Mitchell, South Dakota, where David received his B. A. in psychology and religious education. Dorothy worked hard to support the two of them during these years.
After graduation, David worked for the YMCA, directing youth programs first in Chicago and then in New Jersey. In 1951, still in Chicago, the Livingston couple welcomed twin daughters, Deborah and Marcia, who were surrounded by a loving, multiracial, multicultural community during their early years.
When Dorothy and David were seeking a spiritual home, they found themselves comfortable with the peace testimony and silent worship of Quaker meetings. The family joined the Ridgewood Monthly Meeting in New Jersey and in 1957 helped build a permanent meeting house there in a location intentionally selected between the black and the white areas of town. These were the years of struggle to make racial integration a positive and beneficial change to uplift all people. In the meeting house itself, the Livingstons were involved in starting an Early Education center, "Friends’ Neighborhood Nursery,” which welcomed families from diverse cultures and backgrounds. The meeting house also served as home to Youth Peace Fellowship meetings during the Vietnam War. David included his daughter Deborah in these activities, and she became increasingly involved in the peace movement from the age of 12 or 13. During a peace march in New Jersey they were arrested for civil disobedience, and were also among the thousands who gathered in NYC and Washington, DC to call on the United States government to end the war in Vietnam.
David changed careers during the 1960s and then worked for 30 years at the Hackensack Medical Center as a Respiratory Therapist, always on the night shift which suited his personality but was a struggle for his wife and children.
The couple moved to Tucson in 1989 to be closer to their daughter Deborah and her growing family. They bought the first home they had ever owned and became active members of Pima Friends Meeting, joining in the work done by the Peace and Social Concerns Committee.
David enjoyed family gatherings, was an avid reader, and also loved to cook. As Dorothy became weaker and in need of care in her later years, David took on the household chores and the preparing of meals. Dorothy died in 2006 after a long battle with heart disease. They had been married 58 years.
During the seven years since Dorothy's death, David lived just a few blocks from Deborah and her husband. Debi visited almost daily, and the family appreciates the loving care provided by many during these last years.
David and Dorothy worked throughout their lives for causes of equality, peace, and justice. They inspired their family and others who knew them to continue the struggle to make this world a better place. They brought a special light to the hearts of all those who were around them during their lifetime.
David is survived by his daughters, Marcia Livingston and partner Jana Sanguinetti of Oakland CA, and Deborah Livingston and husband Dennis Keyes of Tucson, AZ.; his grandchildren, Wenonah Michallet-Ferrier (and husband Stephan) of Tucson; Omy Keyes (and partner Brady Jolly) of Tempe, AZ; Seamus Keyes, and Siobhan Keyes of Tucson; and his six great-grandchildren: Estevan, Kailen, Liam, Luca, Chloe, and Camden. Also surviving are three of David's sisters of New Jersey, and numerous nieces and nephews.