Planned Giving
A Tale of Two Davids: David Field '42 and David Williams '43
by Susan Price '86
Two men with many similarities: both named David, raised as Quakers, at BFS from kindergarten through graduation, excelled in math and science, very active in sports, both saw active duty with the US Navy in WWII, never married, and lived very full lives which positively affected others.
They knew each other during their student days at BFS, and each David included Brooklyn Friends in his estate plans years later: one left a modest gift and the other the largest bequest ever given to the school. Yet both gifts speak equally to their appreciation of the profound and positive impact BFS had on their lives, and they chose to profoundly impact BFS after they were gone.
David Field '42
David Freeman Field '42, recalled as "brilliant" by classmates, received the school's Morris Bacon Jackson Award for "best representing the ideals of the school" when he graduated BFS as valedictorian. David entered the Navy immediately after his graduation, joining the Sino American Cooperative Organization.
A member of the Naval Reserve until 1955, David graduated from both Swarthmore in 1948 and Harvard Law in 1951. His love of nature led him to leave it all behind in the early 1960s when he set off across the U.S. on a bicycle.
Enraptured by the beauty of the Southwest, David eventually settled in Silver City, NM where he worked seasonally for the National Park Service and US Forest Service as an interpreter of the archaeological site at the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, in the middle of the Gila National Forest, our nation's first "wilderness area." David's 40 years of simple living, kindness, generosity and stewardship of the Gila Cliff Dwellings deeply impacted those who met him as he helped ensure that future generations would be able to discover and enjoy its beauty as he did.
In all the years after his graduation, BFS had almost no contact with David beyond our mailings to him, so David's bequest of $1,120 surprised us this year as it spoke loudly to the depth of his enduring feeling for BFS. We are grateful to David Field for his concern and care for the future of both the Gila Cliff Dwellings and of Brooklyn Friends School.
David Williams '43
David Gordon Williams '43 also surprised BFS with his bequest of $250,000 in 2003, one of the largest gifts ever received by Brooklyn Friends School and the school's largest received bequest. Dave's parents allowed his enrollment in the Navy's V-5 pilot training program during his senior year at BFS, enabling him to fulfill his dream of earning his Navy wings. After his service, Dave graduated Lehigh in 1950 with an electrical engineering degree, which allowed him to continue blazing trails in communications begun by his father, Samuel B. Williams Jr., the noted Bell Labs engineer in the early days of the telephone and a pioneer in computers. Dave began designing and building television studios in the early 1950s, first in black and white, later in color, for NBC's production centers.
During 1959-60, Dave was the youngest technical advisor for USAID's mission to Korea, which established the Korean Broadcasting System. Upon his return to the U.S., Dave settled in the Washington, DC area and worked with communications engineering companies designing, building and field testing communications systems all over the world. In his later years, Dave's fondness for BFS and his classmates led to his commitment to his successful 50th reunion in 1993.
As part of that reunion, he spearheaded ‘43's Class Gift to BFS, which provided the beautiful granite plaques at the doorway of 375 Pearl Street and funded the alum publication Traditions, now the Alumni/ae section of the BFS Newsletter.
Like many, Dave provided generously for his college in his estate plans, but Dave distinctly chose to remember Brooklyn Friends School as well, the school that helped lay the foundation for his later achievements. Dave's generous gift to BFS supported the expansion and improvement of programs and facilities, enabling current and future students to experience the benefits of a Brooklyn Friends School education.
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