David M. Hampton (b. 7-23-43) came into this world as the second child of William E. Hampton and Henrietta M. Jensen at Albany, California. He grew up in Walnut Creek until age 14 when his family of three brothers and three sisters moved to Tahoe City in 1957. Three years at Tahoe Truckee High School were the prelude to his favorite year as a senior when he graduated in 1961 from Carson High School. College and graduate school in Reno allowed Dave to dodge the draft until 1967 when notice was served. The U.S Navy sent him to Newport R.I for OCS. After Naval engineering school in Philadelphia, he was assigned to the USS Delta AR-9 on the West Coast. At the end of this tour, he was sent to the Mobile Riverine Forces in Vietnam. Returning from this carnage and wastefulness allowed Dave to meet Penelope Chau at Hong Kong in 1970. He felt very fortunate for this opportunity to find his wonderful wife. Dave and penny were married in Reno in 1972 and settled in Carson City where he was employed as a junior high and middle school teacher. His philosophy, put simply, was teach for competence and self-esteem will follow. One must expect results and follow through to get them. In addition, if you add humor, they will listen. He was assigned to teach social studies, math and science. Dave also spent time as negotiator and president of his teachers' association. He lobbied for educational issues before the legislature inciting a friend Cliff Nelson to write:"Dave Hampton ruffled the lounge-bird feathers By forcing the others to think, And thus Dave Hampers the fun and games And drives conservatives to drink." Dave and Penny discovered the joy and sadness in life (a process of creation and elimination) when experiencing the birth of their twin boys Robert and Michael. With the loss of Robert they invested much of their time toward Michael's success. They drove around the western states, Mexico and Canada to give him a traveling education. Mike had summer school with dad in Boy Scouts, back packing, fishing, bicycling, reading, sports and of course, with caring advice. He promised his son the precious commodity of parental time as a Scoutmaster, coach and father. Dave and Penny built there own home on a hill taking three and a half years to complete the task in 1980. His other joys were astronomy, fishing, boating (ranking as captain and only deck hand of his 13’ Boston Whaler) on Tahoe, photography, optics, bicycling, back packing, reading, classical music, motion pictures and breakfast with the guys. Since 1960, he believed Carson City was a great place to live and work. Though Dave was not into mythology, he found his spiritual moments in nature. Science was his way to knowing and the natural world his truth. He believed each of us should learn from observations, that facts matter and to see what works best to find our own peace. He was a lifetime Sierra Club member and hoped all of us will take care of this precious blue planet. He often wondered if capitalism and nature could ever balance on a sustainability scale. He was one of the few who lost sleep over the national debt and found both parties highly unaccountable. His beloved wife Penelope who cared for him 46 years, his son Michael, daughter-in-law Jennifer and grandson Atticus, of Napa, California, survive David Mallory Hampton. He was always keen on his brothers and sisters and the parts family played in his life. A lifetime dedicated non-smoker, Dave succumbed to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. He would ask in lieu of flowers or donations, to take a child to the stars at your favorite dark sky site and answer the questions as best you can. Share a sense of wonderment and invest in their future.
