MAULDIN, S.C. – With understated grace, David Kevin Linehan passed away in the early morning hours of the 30th of August, 2021. Dave approached his death as he approached everything in his life: with a determination to bring joy wherever it could be brought and an acceptance of that which must be. Dave’s capacity to hold these two ideals underscores his life of positivity and compassion.

Dave was born the second of four children to Barry and Geri Linehan in December of 1959 in Portland, where the family lived for many years before moving to Westbrook. Dave graduated from Westbrook high school before beginning his studies at Bates College, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 1982. Throughout his professional life, Dave worked in a number of industries and was universally known as a supportive and reliable friend.

But Dave was never defined by his career. What made Dave who he was were two of his greatest strengths: his mind and his heart. Friends and loved ones knew Dave as the first to offer support, a creative problem solver, and a man who understood the value of effort delivered over time rather than in short bursts. Dave was an analytical man with the soul of a creative who found particular joy in history and fiction, having tried his own hand at writing more than once. Though he would often describe himself as a pessimist, Dave was never disheartened by the chasm between the world around him and the world that he knew could be. In a rare faulty assessment, Dave missed that he was in fact one of the most hopelessly optimistic people the world has known, and this trait led to persistence and cleverness that will be sorely missed.

Dave was predeceased by his father, James “Barry” Linehan. Dave is survived by his mother, Geraldine “Geri” Linehan (Portland); sister Terry Linehan (Portland), brothers Jim (Portland) and Thom Linehan (New Hampshire), sisters-in-law Terri (Portland) and Rebecca Linehan (New Hampshire); nephew Patrick Linehan (Portland), nieces Ruth (New Hampshire) and Rose Linehan (New Hampshire); daughter Abby Ault (Sebago), son Connor Linehan (Connecticut); granddaughter Olivia Ault (Sebago); and his long love, the beautiful Lisa Hayward (South Carolina); as well as numerous friends, coworkers, acquaintances, and strangers whose lives he strived to improve.

Memorial service will be conducted at a date yet to be determined.

Any who wish to honor Dave’s legacy should remember the lessons he taught us all, the greatest of which is that the world is made of billions of individuals, each of infinite value, and to help a single one helps all. In doing this, one can save the entire world—a single person at a time.

In lieu of flowers,

donations in his name

can be made to:

a charity of your choice