Written
by Diane Leipper
David Gmur passed away January 5, 2018. He and Bryan became acquainted through ham radio. He was a friend for over 30 years. Dave, Bryan and I went on many campouts over the years. Gene Baleme, another friend and future SNU member was along for quite a few of those campouts. Pyramid Lake and Lahontan were favorite spots. Dave had his own trailer for many early camping adventures. Later he frequently used our Airstream Bvan or our Airstream Overlander. In 2005, he bought his own Airstream and officially joined the SNU. Dave’s first SNU rally was in 1998 at Lahontan. Since then he has participated in numerous rallies and attended many SNU luncheons and other activities. Dave contributed quite a treasure trove of photos of SNU activities. Many of them are included in the photo galleries on this website.
Dave was a generous and giving person. He was always willing to lend a helping hand. You could often find him at rallies helping someone with a repair or maintenance issue or discussing various systems and equipment. One fond memory was a campout at Pyramid in the early 1990’s. The heater in our trailer quit. With spare parts and a little ingenuity, Dave “McGyvered” it back together and it worked fine for the rest of the campout.
He
and Bryan worked on a variety Airstream projects at home including
wheel bearings, remodeling our 1975 Ambassador, and replacing the
refrigerator. When Dave got his own Airstream he was full of plans
for remodeling it to suit his particular needs. He and Bryan had a
good time taking things apart and finding out how an Airstream is
built from the frame up. Health issues prevented Dave from ever
actually being able to use his own Airstream.
An avid ham radio operator (KA7VLL) Dave often set up a station on campouts and at rallies. The picture on the upper right is a 2009 SNU Field Day rally at Sweetwater Summit. He enjoyed the challenge of setting up the antennas and station as much as he enjoyed the contacts he made.
Dave was a special friend. He was part of the family. Camping, Airstreaming, and ham radio are only part of the story. With over 30 years of memories, Dave will never be far from our thoughts.
Campouts and other memories -|- A photo album of Dave at SNU activities -|- Dave’s memorial service pamphlet
Memorial page -|- Sierra Nevada Unit home page