Sad to see notice of Dave's passing in the Warrior magazine. I knew and flew with Dave in the VS-880 and Bonaventure days and when I returned to the area in '78 I was tickled to see him practicing law. Hard to imagine the fun loving Naval Aircrewman and squadron mate I knew now standing respectably before the judge presenting his arguments.
I newer go over the special feeling whenever David's name appeared in the paper ... Hey, he was one of us!
Godspeed and fair winds Dave. You certainly did it well but you left too early.
David meant a lot to me. We worked closely together for years. We shared many laughs including about you boys and the use of the photocopier. I know how much he loved his family. I will treasure my memories of him. May his memory be a blessing to you.
It has been my priviledge to work with David over almost half centry of pursuing Justice. At all tmes he has carried out his task with honour and skill.
My condolences to Marilyn and family. I only knew David and Marilyn for a couple years but treasure our brief interactions and the kindness I saw anytime we chatted.
David was in some 5 weeks of trial with me, preceded by about 2-3 years of various hearings over which time I came to know him better . He was an honourable, sturdy and formidable opponent. He epitomizes everything that is a credit to the Bar and more . As an English barrister myself , the title QC and now KC is truly deserved and a reflection of all the qualities and attributes of an advocate in David. On a personal note we shared a background in the military that I found fascinating and also insightful of his approach - disciplined, organized and thorough. It is rare to have both the privilege and honour and at the same time pleasure of an adversary in a trial as intense and high stakes as the one we did together. I shall miss him and even though the meeting was brief, it was very fulfilling. David ran his race well.
My condolences to your family, Mr. Bright. I will miss seeing you in Court. At one of our last virtual appearances I apologized for having children underfoot. Without missing a beat, you told me to stop stepping on my children. You were a kind and funny presence in a place that is often neither.
I had the pleasure of being a colleague of David’s at Boyne Clarke for more than 20 years. He was a trusted mentor and I could always rely on him to provide guidance, practical advice and assistance to either me or one of my clients when called upon no matter how busy he was. I have read many of the posts in this Guestbook and echo the comments of everyone who knew David, all of which are a testament to the exceptional man he was.
Since David was away from the office so often attending court, I didn’t have the opportunity to spend as much time with him as I did with most of my other colleagues. When he retired a few years ago, I deeply regretted not being able to spend more time with him over the years as he was simply the type of guy you wanted to have around, no matter what the situation. Similarly, when I heard of his passing, I again experienced those same feelings of regret, wishing that there would have been more opportunities to chat with David and I’m sure that everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him feels the same way.
RIP David. Thanks for being there; you will be deeply missed.
My sincerest condolences to Marilyn and David’s family.
I only learned minutes ago of David's passing. I am dictating this message of remembrance from Thailand where I am vacationing.
I knew David from his first year in law school because somehow, he had landed at my doorstep and he loved to hang around the law office to particularly discuss criminal files.
We had a client who was in the Royal Canadian Navy and he had been charged assaulting a police officer. This was a bad case. The court appearance conflicted with a trial that I was doing in Supreme Court in Amherst. I had great trepidation of someone appearing with a client who was not even an articling student, but David persuaded to let him do it.
When I came back from court in Amherst, I was anxious to find out what had happened to our sailor client. David advised me that he had pled the client guilty and proceeded with sentencing before judge Gunn. Judge Gunn, who was known to be a tough sentencer, imposed a sentence of five dollars. I was astounded and found it hard to believe. I heard that David had marched the sailor in full dress uniform into the court room and standing at attention without blinking an eye before judge Gunn. The judge had been an officer in the Canadian forces, commanding troops in battle in Europe. David engaged the judge in talking about the military and judge Gunn said, "Mr. Bright, we need good fighting men in the Canadian Armed Forces." By his comments, representations, and manners, he touched the soul of the judge.
I shall always remember David and I want to express my sincere condolences to his wife and children. David, you were one of a kind.
