I knew David since elementary school in Soquel and Capitola...always a good friend with a great smile.  Dave was a beloved classmate of the Soquel High Class of 1967 ... the BEST CLASS EVER! 
As of one of other classmates remember today when I share the sad news on our class Facebook Group Page... 
"Ahhh David, what he lacked in height, he made up spirit and energy. RIP David."  Richard Knight
We are planning our 55th Class Reunion in September 2022 ... David wish you were coming, but he will be with us in our hearts and remembered well.  R.I.P. dear friend. 
Blessings to Beth and the girls

The Warriors open in a few days. David, Al, Steve and McClain and I would share a thousand dissecting and meaningless emails on the team right now.
David loved those Warriors and could always peg what was good, grey, or bad about the team.
I miss you, buddy. 

I was one year behind David at Stanford, and I followed him to Kaiser Permanente in Oakland. He was a core member of the Medical Economics management team, and a great partner. As we pursued our subsequent careers, I was amazed at David's bold moves and creativity -- wine! music! travel! I had a wonderful long conversation with him at the Medical Economics reunion several years ago at Patty and Greg Mintz's, and I was so intrigued to hear about his volunteer work at Freight & Salvage, on of my favorite music venues. As Beth said in her moving tribute, he really was a model for all of us as a lifelong learner.  

One final story: while we were working together at Kaiser, I had a dream one night about playing basketball, and David was the point guard on our team. I told him about it the next morning. David wasn't a particularly boastful person, but he immediately responded, "Yeah, I'm a pretty good point guard." Remembering David for that: the point guard on our "dream team".

In 2001, my friend Steve Hickman brought his cousin Beth’s husband to crew for us on a short sailing adventure. While heading up the Sacramento River, we realized that I had supervised David when he was a lowly social work intern way back in the ‘80’s. It didn’t take long to rejigger the relationship and soon David became a good crew and a great friend. We could talk deep and personal. He was always ready for an adventure. He helped Sandy and me take the boat to Mexico, then flew into Mazatlán to help us cross the Sea of Cortez back to La Paz. Shortly after that, he bought his own boat! He joined us several times in British Columbia waters via float plane. We had many exploits together, including circumnavigating Vancouver Island, and numerous expeditions along the California coast. Beyond sailing and so much more, there was golf, always the golf…all over the country. We even went to golf school together (it didn’t help), and once played one hundred holes in eight hours in a fund raiser. The last time I saw David was July 29 as his guest in the invitational tournament at his club. We did not win, but we did not humiliate ourselves. I am so very thankful that as always, we hugged goodbye that day.

I can’t express how saddened and devastated we are to have lost David. He was truly a kind, generous, compassionate and all round great guy. For such a modest may, he leaves a giant hole. We always loved sharing laughs with you both and John loved his company golfing and talking about almost anything, especially sports and music! I always admired how David didn’t just have interests, they were in-depth passions, things to be mastered!  We loved the time we had with him and are richer for it. He is sorely missed

Hello,

I was lucky enough to have David as a brother-in-law.  I can only second all of the thoughts and sentiments expressed in this memorial.  So, I thought I would share some stories about David.   There are many, but I picked two.

As background,  my husband Roger (who is now in memory care) and David were Allene Hickman Gibson's two son-in-laws.  They did not have much in common;  Roger was tall and heavy, David not so much.  David was a California guy; Roger grew up in rural Ohio.  David had an MBA; Roger has a master's degree in Latin American studies.  David had a successful career; Roger bounced around a lot as a computer programer.  David loved golf; the last time Roger played was as a private in the Army

But they had that bond; Allene as their mother-in-law.  I know that they probably had stories about her that they wouldn't even share with Beth and me.   But here are two stories about these two that Beth and I always chuckle about.

Story # 1:   In 1992, the Hickman side of the family was having a July 4th reunion at our cabin in southwestern Colorado.  The Hickman clan is proud of having roots in  the "Western Slope" of the Colorado Rockies; proud of being hunters, fly fishers, mountain bikers, back packers, etc.  Roger and David did not have the creds of being from the Western Slope, flatlanders were they.

The eve of the Fourth, everyone was outside watching the men demonstrate their barbecue skills on the barbie in the front yard.  Either David or Roger, I am not sure which, spotted something move on the hill above on the pasture.  The spotter thought it looked like a bear.   But it couldn't be a bear;  David and Roger knew that the common wisdom was that there hadn't been any bear in the Dolores River valley for decades.  So instead of asking a Hickman to verify the siting (being afraid that he would be embarrassed if it wasn't a bear) the spotter consulted with the other flatlander.  The two concurred that it was a bear and announced it to the group.  Much excitement ensued, with others confirming the siting, thank goodness.  A verified bear siting and the cabin has never been the same.

Story #2.  Allene was always frugal with money, but she could become absolutely tightfisted when it came to buying gifts.  Our kids would roll their eyes at the regifted items they got.  After one Christmas, I mentioned to Beth that Mom had really outdone herself; she had given Roger two linen handkerchiefs as his present.  Beth exclaimed,  "Roger got two?  David only got one!" Mom had bought a box of three and had divvied them up.......  I ascribe Roger's preferential treatment to the fact that he had ten years on David as a son-in-law.

David, you done good, and I miss you.

Mary

David touched my life so many ways, from working together at Kaiser to sharing his garage with me when I needed a place to stay.  I loved showing him guitar licks and doing odd jobs at his house from time to time.  He was a great boss and colleague.

My latest encounter was just a few weeks ago when we ran into one another at Safeway.  “Lieberknecht!” he called from across the store.  I said, “Hey David, but I’m Mintz now.  ”(I changed my last name in 2019 to match my wife’s.)  He responded with a grin and wave of his hand, “I can’t keep track of all that.”  It was pure David.  We stood in the middle of the aisle and chatted happily for a time.

Beth’s beautiful eulogy summarized David’s life and his many gifts.  David was a true Renaissance man.  Whatever he set his mind to doing he achieved and his passions were prolific.  Whether it was growing fine grapes in Sonoma, sailing all over the world, playing guitar, or golfing, David put his formidable brain and will towards achieving at a very high level.  I have happy memories of David and my husband Greg turning the Garber St. garage into a studio for Theresa  so she would have a place of her own to practice her music.  Days of sound-muffling siding installation ensued.  I had the privilege of knowing David at Stanford, at Kaiser, and as a friend of the amazing Sawi family.  His life was cut too short but he lived it fully and enthusiastically.  As they say in the Jewish faith, may his memory be a blessing.

Got a bill today addressed to the Estate of David Sawi and asking for his insurance info to pay for the emergency services provided by the paramedics.