David R. Stirman, 48, of Largo, Florida died on December 21, 2010. He was born in Melbourne, Florida on November 23, 1962, the son of Charles E. and Bonnie Evans Stirman. David attended Orlando schools and graduated from Winter Park High School. He later graduated from UCF where he majored in computer engineering, and had made a career as a software engineer. In 1985, he married Katy Raymond, and together have resided in Largo. David was a member of First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks and was also active with Evangelism Explosion.
Besides his wife, Katy, he is survived by his daughters, Charlene and Hannah; his father, Charles, and step-mother, Marie; his three sisters: Michele Pierson, Jeanette Stirman, and Lydia Rose Stirman; and his three brothers: Charles, Jr., Dan and Jonathan. He is preceded in death by his mother, Bonnie Jean.
Services are scheduled at 11AM on Friday, December 31, 2010 at First Baptist Church at Indian Rocks.
I am very saddened to read about the loss of David. I really enjoyed his friendliness and professionalism as a colleague at Adobe. I first met David in Dublin many years ago, benefited from his technical expertise on a regular basis and enjoyed his company recently at the Adobe Wintech conference in Las Vegas.
My prayers are for David and his family.
Herve Dupriez, London, UK
My prayers and thoughts to David’s family. What an incredible person and such a unique talent! It has been my absolute honor and privilege to have known and worked with David over these many years at Adobe. Ilana Gregory, Ottawa, Canada
David was one of the most profound people I knew and was very proud to be related to. He was my cousin on my father’s side, and though he was a number of years older than me I was very interested in him by his abilities at a very young age. He seemed to have profound insight into technology and inspired me to study harder. While I’m not a scientist, I am regularly reminded how incredible he was as a person and how much I miss his perspective on the world and regret not being able to spend more time with him before he left. Every time I “upgraded” my computer system I would invariably have a question only he cold answer. His is a deeply personal loss because he not only could answer my questions easily, but usually with a sort of chess-like brilliance expanding on my train of thought many moves ahead of my own; his ability to provide insight into areas of expertise provided a type of role model for me that I can not replace. He was the kind of person that helps without even realizing it, that is until he’s gone. I realized that while I was proficient in math and science, my skills propelled me towards telling stories of history, so I found the middle ground by telling stories of how the history of technology helped shape the world before digitization and crossed the bridge into a generation where artists are indebted to people like David for helping create the tools that are redefining the world of images now and into the future. He was someone that linked me between seeing digital art come into being and understanding what is happening in a way that encouraged me to not be overwhelmed by the gaps and chasms between knowledge at a general macro scale and the invisible mechanics as all the moving parts gradually disappearing into our everyday lives anyway. He was one of the fundamental people that helped me develop the confidence and courage to tell a story of higher knowledge to a wider audience, and also to be humble enough to admit to not knowing all the answers to every question. He influenced me from a distance and while I never got the chance to thank him for helping me discover a path in life I feel privileged to have discovered it from his inspiration. I will never forget him.
I’m so sorry Katy for your loss, and for the family you have so richly developed. My lack of attention should be not forgiven. You will be rewarded, and David is already there. For heaven’s sake, God bless us all! I am so glad we met.
Your friend, Carl