David August Malmquist
April 19, 1939 - December 20, 2023
Obituary
David August MALMQUIST lived a life of exuberance, warmth and good cheer, peacefully passing away at his home in his sleep on December 20, 2023.
His wonderful life of adventure began in Salt Lake City, Utah on April 19, 1939, the third child born to “Quist” (Orvin) and Florence Malmquist. Dave graduated from East High School where he became a football star, was named All-State wide receiver, and most importantly, met his true love, Anne Malmquist (Boehmer).
Dave’s life journey moved on to the University of Utah where he played one year of football, pledged Sigma Chi Fraternity and graduated with a mechanical engineering degree in 1961. From there, he and Anne moved south to Palo Alto where he earned an MBA from Stanford University and welcomed his first daughter Kirsten into the world. He then marched East to serve as a First Lieutenant in the United States Army at the Pentagon where Leslie, his second daughter, arrived.
Traveling again, Dave and family moved to the Pacific Northwest, where he began his professional career with Weyerhaeuser. He took great pride in creating value across a myriad of roles and home bases, including Plant Manager at Everett and Cosmopolis Pulp Mills, project managing the development of new mills in the Southeast, and serving as the Assistant to the VP-Operations, Harry Morgan. He retired after 35 years, having developed countless lifelong relationships with colleagues and friends.
Dave’s retirement centered around the activities and people he most cherished, including escapades to faraway lands, captaining crab and fish hunts at Guemes Island, coaching his beloved Seahawks and taking frequent trips to visit his children and grandchildren on the East Coast.
His legacy is his genuine connections with anyone and everyone he met, often described as a “guy who’d never met stranger”, “always curious, easy to trust” and “told the best stories, usually informative, always entertaining”! He was authentic to the core, devoted to his family and friends, delighting in everyone’s accomplishments great and small, and living with absolute humility as he achieved great things throughout his life.
Dave is preceded in death by his wife Anne, his dog Maggie and his sister Karen Russell; he is survived by his daughters Kirsten McElroy (Tom) and Leslie Malmquist, his brother Newland Malmquist and his four beloved grandchildren, Ryan, Carolynn, Lindsey and Jesse.
A Celebration of Life will be scheduled for early April 2024.
I did not have the pleasure of meeting David but I know his grandson Ryan. Ryan seems to share the character of his grandfather and I know he loves him deeply.
My prayers continue for the family as the share their memories and love for David.
I have nothing but good memories of Dave. I worked with him at Weyerhaeuser for many years and enjoyed him very much. Always kind and thoughtful. His friends and family were very important to him. He will be missed! Rest in peace my friend.
I have good memories of him❤️
Dave was a very special man. Always warm and caring. He made the world a better place.