David Lerman

Aug. 11, 1939 - Aug. 12, 2024

David Irvin Lerman, 85, died on August 12, 2024, at home in Gig Harbor, Washington. Born in 1939, David grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, with his sister, Ruth, and parents, Sam and Rose (née Bein). After graduating from Cornell University and serving in the Army, David joined North American Aviation and helped design the splashdown system for the Apollo 11 spacecraft. David later moved to Stockholm, Sweden, where he lived for several years and met his beloved wife of five decades, artist Cecilia Blomberg. In the late 1970s, they returned to the United States, and David completed his PhD in sociology at the University of Oregon. A lifelong environmentalist, David spent the rest of his career working in Portland, Oregon, and Tacoma, Washington, on energy-conservation projects for public utility companies. David loved the outdoors, folk music, playing guitar, humor, politics, crosswords, bagels, and his family. He is survived by his wife, Cecilia; son, Jonas; daughter-in-law, Kristin; grandchildren, Theo and Inga; and friends and family around the world. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Nature Conservancy in David’s memory.