David Alexander Battin
His Story
In the days
after the recent passing of Dr. David Alexander Battin, as family and
friends reminisced, it quickly became evident that here was a man who
was happy with pretty much everything in his life. What an extraordinary
gift.
Born in 1951, the son of "The Colonel" Jim and Mackintosh
Battin and the spirited, dearly admired older brother to Margi, David
was forever causing trouble but rarely got caught. In the post-war,
suburban neighborhood of Monterey Park, David got up to all sorts of
youthful hi-jinx like melting streets with exploding rockets and tying
his younger sister to a tree. He spent a lot of time at his Jewish best
friend's home which, consciously or not, is probably what landed him in
the UC Santa Cruz Hebrew class searching for a Jewish wife.
Marcia
Schwartz and David were married in Los Angeles, CA in the summer of
1975. True love? Of course. Urgently necessary for Marcia's work visa
for the move to Toronto? Absolutely. In Toronto, David attended medical
school and seemingly played all sports and (unverifiable) was good at
them all! Based on many stories and sources, it seems nearly impossible,
that with how much fun he had and how little he studied, he was able to
become a doctor. And yet, half of anyone you'll meet between the ages
of 20 and 40 in Pasadena was delivered by the good Doctor B.
David
was the proud father of Matthew, Sarah and Rachel (and Mary Beth).
Despite unpredictable and long hours at the hospital there is not a
single moment he missed in their lives, which is both remarkable and a
testament to how much his family mattered to him. He was there at boy
scout camp when Matt shaved his head with a Bic razor and did nothing to
stop him. He was there to whisk Rachel off the ski slopes with a broken
wrist and straight to the emergen-er, his orthopedic friend's kitchen
for a late night casting. Not for lack of his middle of the night
racing up the state, he was only almost there for the birth of his first
grandchild. This was for the best as Sarah didn't quite know how to
tell him he was certainly not allowed in the delivery room. Among the
many things that the Battin clan did together, family camp at UC Santa
Barbara was a long lasting tradition. For thirteen summers, David took
the greatest amount of joy spending a week with his family... rather,
David took the greatest amount of joy waving to his children across the
cafeteria at meal times after their busy days in groups and his busy
days of sailing, wine tasting, and tennis.
In the over thirty
years that David and his family called 1961 La France Ave. home, David
was an active member in the community. Long a fixture in the South
Pasadena AYSO, David coached, refereed, red carded his children's
friends' parents, and consistently followed players down the sidelines
yelling, 'Push!' as if they were in labor. He spent twenty-five holiday
seasons as a volunteer for the Tournament of Roses. Whether it was
selecting marching bands, riding a moped alongside a float down the
parade route or just flipping burgers for the hungry marchers at the
end, he always found something interesting and entertaining in each
assignment and treated them all with the same level of importance.
Although not a born member of the tribe, he was an active member in his
Jewish congregation. And even after David and Marcia moved to
Sacramento, they continued to support the beloved South Pasadena
library, traveling down often for Restoration concerts for which David
designed the programs.
After a long and prolific career
delivering all of the campers his children picked up on their Tom Sawyer
Camp bus routes, David supposedly went back to school to start a new
career in health management, but everyone knows it was really to gloat
over his exemplary report cards in front of his children at the dinner
table. The new Blue Shield-9-5-business-David enjoyed weekends off and
finding better and faster ways to commute to work. It also allowed him a
convenient way to move to Sacramento to pursue a role in his most
ardent life passion: sports sideline Grandpa.
For all his many
successes and accomplishments in life, he counted all of his true
blessings in grand kids. Eight loud, messy, bickering, couch jumping,
drink spilling blessings. Sebastian, James, Oliver, Sadie, Noah, Max,
Simon and Phoebe. Name a sport, David was on that sideline supporting
his grand kids/making friends/saying vaguely offensive things about the
opposing children. And why stop at sidelines? David could also be found
at out-of-town tournaments buying all the little league moms poolside
margaritas. Of course, he knew that none of these eight blessings would
be possible without the people chosen and brought into the family. David
often remarked upon what good fortune it was for his children to marry
such welcome and fitting additions: Matt, Emily and Addison.
In
the years after their children left the house and were forced to
surrender the family credit card, David and Marcia found a whole new
world of travel and an online social travel community. The trips they
took and the friends they made were a major focus and highlight of their
retirement years. The farther they went, the closer it kept them
together. And after their 100th consecutive trip to Italy (the man just
loved pasta and wine so much), Marcia even managed to convince him there
were more parts of the world worth seeing.
Only very recently
David and Marcia celebrated their 50th anniversary on the loveliest of
afternoons with family and friends picnicking and drinking wine in the
shaded glen of a delta winery. Right now, it is the most bittersweet of
memories. Ultimately though, one hopes that one day everyone will
recognize it only as a joyful final gift in the life of a man who valued
family and friends above all.
For Marcia:
The news of David's sudden passing struck all of us hard to the heart. Marcia your name was inextricably connected to David's like peanut butter is to jelly. I mean you two were a true power duo and it has been such a pleasure to know you both and share in so many (yet not enough) gtg's with our slowtravel group adventures. I will always link the best margarita's to David mixing huge batches on our weekend getaways to wineries with Shannon leading the way. It was so uplifting and reassuring that people could have it all ie a good life, solid relationships with family and friends and in general a joyous life filled with great and endless adventures. That is what you and David did so well and what will sustain you through missing his physical presence. He will remain by your side giving you little nudges to move forward and to keep on leading the good life. Thank you for sharing this beautifully written tribute to David's life. I will be with you in my heart on the day you honor and celebrate his life. I will wear blue and toast to David and a life well lived. Many hugs to you my dear friend.
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