David Zuckerman

David Zuckerman passed away peacefully at home on April 8, 2023 after a long and brutal battle with Posterior Cortical Atrophy, a rare form of early-onset Alzheimer’s. David’s last four days were spent at home, in his beloved music room, surrounded by family and friends and listening to his favorites -- Mozart, the Beatles and Bob Dylan.

David was born in 1960 in Brooklyn, New York to June and Israel Zuckerman. There was no mistaking his Brooklyn roots in his straightforward manner of speaking, his love of a good bagel, and his ability to parallel park in impossibly tight spaces. David attended Great Neck South high school in Long Island, where he made lifelong friends and was, of course, on the math team. He went on to Brown University where he was a math major but seemed to be equally focused on playing music. His friends from Brown remained close to him throughout his life. Following college, David put that math degree to good use...by becoming a recording engineer at the Splice of Life studio in Boston. For reasons that still remain unclear, David then left the recording business and entered law school at Northeastern University in 1985. On the first day of law-school orientation, David met his life partner, Maureen Devlin. After the longest courtship in recorded history, they married in 1998. David’s extraordinary legal mind was revealed at Northeastern. Classmates, including Maureen, relied on David’s notes and class outlines to survive. Purportedly, some of those outlines remained in circulation for years. David was selected by his classmates to give the graduation speech in which he noted that our class attitude was not that we could play this game as well as anyone, but was instead, “This is a dumb game everyone is playing. Maybe we should change the rules.” Following law school, David moved to Seattle to work for The Public Defender Association. He then clerked for Federal Judge William Dwyer before opening his own practice.

David was a rare breed, a true Renaissance man. He was a brilliant criminal defense lawyer who managed to fight for his clients with tenacity, courage and decency. He was not only highly respected by clients and colleagues, receiving in 2017 the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyer’s highest honor, the William O. Douglas award, but was equally respected by his adversaries and the judiciary as well. David had many clients facing a death sentence and would say that his greatest professional accomplishment was that not one of those clients lost the battle on his watch. David was endlessly giving of his expertise, often volunteering his time to provide advice or to speak at continuing education events. He also was passionate about protecting civil liberties and devoted countless hours in service to the American Civil Liberties Union.

There was so much more to David than his remarkable legal career. David was a talented musician, having played piano in several rock bands including his aptly-named college band, The Geeks. He was also always athletic, an avid skier, a swimmer, a former competitive diver, a runner, and a triathlete. He loved to hike and backpack and traveled far and wide to do so. He had a wry sense of humor specializing in eye-rolling Dad jokes, never lost his cool, and always made time to care for friends and family.
David’s pride and joy were his twin daughters, Anna and Leah Zuckerman. He was endlessly devoted to them. They adored him and the feeling was mutual. Nothing mattered more to David than the happiness of his girls. He never missed an opportunity to be with them, or to brag about them, as they flourished into the beautiful, brilliant, amazing young women they are today. No doubt that David’s influence and love will carry them through forever.

In addition to Maureen, Anna, and Leah, David is survived by his brother, Daniel Zuckerman, and by too many friends to count. While his light was extinguished too soon, he packed more into those 63 years than most of us can dream of doing. May he be at peace now and free.

Celebration of a Life Well-Lived

Please join us in honoring the memory of David Zuckerman
May 20, 2023 from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Please let us know if you can attend, so we can ensure sufficient quantities of Jameson Black Barrel for a toast.
Anyone unable to attend is encouraged to send brief written remembrances, which will be displayed near the guest registry.
Please let us know if you will be able to attend and submit remembrances here.

To share your condolences and memories of David, please visit his Tribute Wall, located above. 
 

- Care & Arrangements Entrusted to Emmick Family Funeral Home -

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