By Virginia Reinhart
Stalwart Sierra Club volunteer David McCoard passed away in April. He was a tireless advocate for the environment and social justice. Dave was a Sierra Club member for 58 years, and an active Club leader for most of those years. He got started with the Club in the 1970s as an Executive Committee member and Outings Chair of the Kern-Kaweah Chapter. Even after he moved to the Bay Area in the 1980s, Dave continued to make regular pilgrimages to backpack the Sierra. His experiences in the mountains shaped his lifelong environmental ethos.
In recent years, Dave co-chaired the San Francisco Bay Chapter’s Energy and Climate Committee and served on the Executive Committee of the West Contra Costa County Group. He was passionate and informed about a wide range of issues including housing, transportation, air quality, and toxics.
To his many friends and colleagues, Dave was a kind, patient, curious, and welcoming presence. His 2018 candidate statement for the local Group election summed up his inclusive attitude: “Basic to action on environmental issues is the task of increasing the number of people actively involved in the Group. We can do this by actively inviting and creating opportunities for participation, and making members know that their activity and feelings count.”
Dave will be deeply missed. If you have memories of Dave to include in an upcoming memorial piece, please email yodedit@sfbaysc.org.
Virginia Reinhart is the director of the Sierra Club SF Bay Chapter.
Photo credit: David McCoard at the 2017 Chapter awards dinner. Photo by Jane Richey Photography, janerichey.com.