ForeverMissed
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His Life
December 10, 2012

David Akira Nakagaki was born in Berkeley, California on October 14, 1954 to George and Haruye Nakagaki. As a young toddler, he and his parents moved to the Sunset District in San Francisco where he grew up. With his parent’s help, Dave became a good skier and bowler at an early age. His other early interests included photography, stamp and shell collecting, and reading which developed into a life-long passion. He attended Ulloa Elementary School, A.P. Giannini Junior High, and graduated with honors from Lowell High School in 1972. He continued his education at Stanford University earning a Bachelors of Science in Civil Engineering (1976), and Masters of Science in Environmental Engineering (1977).

Upon completing his degrees at Stanford, he was immediately hired by the County Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County for which he has been employed for 36 years, only taking a leave of absence to earn his M.B.A. from UCLA (1985). Dave was initially hired on as an Engineering Associate (1977) and was later promoted to Civil Engineer (1983) and then to Senior Engineer (1987). He served on the Board of Directors of the Southern California Waste Water Management Forum for 15 years.

Dave met his wife Janice at Wintersburg Presbyterian Church, and they were married on March 4, 1989. He became a father on February 17, 1991 when his daughter Christine was born. Dave and Janice were blessed again with parenthood when Michael was born on July 3, 1994. Dave liked sharing his interests with family and friends. He played tennis once a week with co-workers and more recently with the family when Michael also became interested in the sport. Unbeknownst to many, Dave had a particular fondness for learning trivia so he could answer “Final Jeopardy” questions. As a family, they went camping, and visited zoos, museums,  and Disneyland whenever they had time. Dave especially enjoyed taking Christine and Michael to the special places he had visited as a child with his own parents. Hawaii was his favorite vacation spot which they visited every few years. As Christine and Michael got older and became more active, he could be seen supporting them at soccer games, equestrian events, cheer competitions, and Girls Scouts and Boys Scouts activities.

Busy as he was with work and family life, he made time to serve as an Elder at Wintersburg Presbyterian Church (1997-1999), and was a committee member of Family Ministries, and the Associate Pastor and Pastor Nominating Committees (2000, 2002-2003). Dave joined the church on April 12, 1987 by Confession of Faith and Baptism. His influence will continue to live on for many years within his family, at work, and at church.  He will be greatly missed.