David M. Ohara Alfred Dr. David M. Ohara of Alfred, NY, died on Saturday, 27 December 2014, at home after a long battle with congestive heart failure. He was born on 10 March 1927 in Hiroshima, Japan and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. He graduated from Graceland University, Indiana University, University of Hawaii, Johns Hopkins University, and University of Pennsylvania where he received his PHD in English Literature. He was in the Honor Society at Graceland College, honor roll at Indiana University, and inducted into the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi at the University of Hawaii. David Ohara served as a Specialist Third Class in the Armed Forces at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. He became a Professor of English and Film at Alfred University, Alfred, New York. He was inducted into the Alfred University chapter of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. David won both the Excellence in Teaching Award and the Alumni Association’s Faculty Friend Award. He was asked to chair a David Ohara Lecture Series which hosted prominent speakers on Film and Literature. He was the founder of the Nevins Campus Theatre. Upon retiring he continued as an Emeritus Professor. David inspired many whether they be his students, fellow colleagues, family, community or even strangers while on his traveling adventures with his beloved wife, Maggie. He was a creative intellectual who embraced the written word yet lived and shared its great knowledge, wit, and humor through his eloquent lectures, his Noel Coward banter, his Sinatra crooning, or even a dance, whirling with Maggie in Astaire and Rogers style. He was a strong advocate of education and culture, believing that they opened a person’s horizon to fully appreciate the world and understand people. He felt that discipline, hard work, and a desire to achieve were important yet, in the pursuit of those goals, one must enjoy the day because “you could be struck by lightning any moment!” David possessed that unique charisma, charm, and style that made him memorable and a stand-out in a crowd. He was a cultured man with a great aesthetic sense of film, music, art, and fashion. His doctors and nurses would make comments on his chic ensembles during visits. He was a voracious eater, a “foodie”, who loved seafood, ethnic food, and he had a sweet tooth. David could chomp on a crab leg, feast on sushi and sashimi: eel was one of his favorites, and eat ice cream everyday. During his later years, he watched all the cooking shows and created numerous dishes from a variety of chefs: Ina Garten mainly, Childs, and Drummond and poured through the family’s cherished recipe books that had Hawaiian, Japanese, and Chinese dishes. David Ohara will be greatly missed by the countless students he taught who remember him with fondness and respect, his colleagues, and especially his family. He is survived by: daughter Stacey Kiyo Ohara of Los Angeles CA; son Darren and his wife Deb of Almond NY; grandson Justin and his wife Kirsten of Hornell NY; and great granddaughters Mackenzie and Jaden. According to David’s wishes, there will be neither a viewing nor a memorial service. Memorial contributions can be sent to the Alfred Ambulance Company or the Homecare Hospice-Wellsville Office. To send a remembrance to the family or to light a candle in David’s name please visit www.brownandpowersfuneralhomes.com.
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David Ohara
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