David Clark Brand
On June 29, 2023, God blessed Dave with a gentle passing from this world to heaven, receiving the finest Hospice care and having loved ones close by.
Born David Clark Brand, August 22, 1941, in Akron, OH, to Wallace Clark Brand and Nellie Mae Brand, Dave always cherished his first twelve years of lakeside family life at Portage Lakes, OH. Days were full of ice skating, canoeing, hiking, fishing, and playing sports, and these interests continued throughout his adulthood. At age 16, while Dave was living in Canal Fulton, OH, the focus of his life was transformed during a teen conference. There he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior and received forgiveness of his sins and the call to live for the Lord. Thereafter, his focus was on honoring the Lord rather than on school and sports awards. At the same teen conference, he met Marilyn Gaupp. They exchanged weekly letters over the following years, eventually fell in love, and married after their college graduations.
Throughout his life, Dave diligently studied and meditated on the Bible, convinced of its infallibility for faith and practice. He always sought astute, well-prepared educators. He was a lifelong student and enjoyed and marveled at the wonders of creation.
Dave’s Christian ministry included service in Seoul, Korea, and in California, Washington, Ohio, New Jersey, Virginia, and Arizona. In his pastoral work, he initiated fellowship and study groups among pastors, presented seminars, pursued advanced study, and enjoyed writing for the Christian Observer. His thesis for his second master’s degree became a published book on the theology of Jonathan Edwards.
Dave’s talent and enthusiasm for carpentry and home improvement turned our house into our favorite home.
The joy and high calling of parenting truly were Dave’s delight. His profound desire was to give fatherly love. In his senior years, this dimension of his life increased as the gracious blessings continued from his children and grandchildren.
David was preceded in death by his parents and his older brother, Douglas Lee Brand.
David is survived by his dear wife, Marilyn G. Brand, and his children and eight grandchildren, including: Mark Andrew Brand and his wife, Ellen van Dalsem, and their children, Thomas Clark Brand and Elizabeth Adriana Brand, of The Netherlands; Jonathan David Brand and his wife, Mary McFadden Brand, and their children, Michael James Brand, Caroline Marie Brand, John Henry Brand, David Thomas Brand, and Maria Madeleine Brand, of Culpeper, VA; Sara Elizabeth Brand-New and her husband, Robert New, and their daughter, Emmeline Margaret New, of Swanville, ME. Other survivors include his younger brother, Donald Wallace Brand, and wife, Elizabeth Brand, of Canal Fulton, OH; his older brother’s wife, Phyllis Brand, of Cape Coral, FL, and niece, Kimberly Maloney, and grand-nephews Sean and Evan Maloney, of Cape Coral, FL; and his cousins Janine Kozma of Cuyahoga Falls, OH, and Ross Nicholson of Sagamore Hills, OH.
We, David and Marilyn, thank the Lord for our life together of hope, fidelity, learning, enjoying cheer and joy, working and playing, delighting in creation and the privilege of loving and being loved, together with our family, extended family, and friends. Our wedding vows “to love and to honor; for better for worse; for richer for poorer; in sickness and in health” gave anchor for sixty years and now give deepest consolation.
God bless you all in the fullness of Psalm 23.
A private graveside service with close family, led by longtime friend Rev. Robert Gordon of Lexington, VA, will be held on July 19, 2023, in Greene County, VA.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to Hospice of the Piedmont (675 Peter Jefferson Parkway, Charlottesville, VA 22911, hopva.org) and Samaritan’s Purse (PO Box 3000, Boone, NC 28607).
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.hillandwood.com
