David John Carney

David John Carney, born in Brooklyn, NY on August 22, 1942, was the

first son and the fourth child of Frank and Edith Carney, who had

emigrated from Scotland. Their second son, John was born six years later.

Although the family had barely sufficient means, the family was rich in

culture, music, literature, art, and creativity. Edith Carney had been

influenced by the teachings of Maria Montessori which impacted the daily

life of the children and the home atmosphere.

From an early age, David showed great promise in music studying with

Miss Blass, a neighborhood teacher and then at about age 13, playing the

pipe organ for services at St. Teresa Church under the instruction of Maria

Trombetta. He graduated from Bishop Loughlin High School in 1959.

He attended Catholic University in Washington, D.C. and graduated with a

B.S. in Music in 1963. After graduation, David accepted a teaching

assignment at Oklahoma State College in Chickashee. This influenced him

to complete his master’s degree in music theory in 1965 at University of

Southern California under the direction of Ingolf Dahl, a protégé of Igor

Stravinsky. He next taught at Oberlin Conservatory and from there, he

moved to Boston and taught graduate studies for many years at Boston

University where he also earned his doctorate. In Boston, he collaborated

on several projects with his friend, the composer, Daniel Pinkham. David

was Assistant Conductor of the Handel-Hayden Orchestra, the first and

oldest orchestra in the U.S. With his design of a computer program to

explicate the works of J.S. Bach he was led to complete another master’s

degree in computer sciences and later earning a second Ph.D. in computer

sciences.

He relocated in 1986, after accepting a position as Research Staff Member

with the Institute for Defense Analyses in Washington, D.C., although he

maintained his roots in Boston. While in Washington, he taught part-time

at Catholic University. He shared residence in Washington and Boston with

his long-time friend and partner and friend of the Carney Family, Eugene

Green. Along with his encyclopedic knowledge of music, David was a

composer, and some of his compositions around that time include A

Sonata for Trumpet and Orchestra; A Christmas Cantata, Let Us Now Praise

Famous Men, a chorale based on the writings of James Agee.

After the untimely death of Eugene Green, David accepted a position in

the Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute in Pittsburgh, which

focused on cybersecurity, and AI engineering working with government

agencies and private industry. After retirement from SEI, David settled in

Santa Fe, NM enjoying evenings of salon with his friend and ally and

flutist, Shelby Boggio with whom he had been friends with Shelby and his

wife for 53 years.

After about eight years, David moved to Palm Springs and then most

recently, back to Santa Fe into senior housing as aging issues became

difficult. Shelby kindly gave David’s grand piano and life-time treasure, a

new home. David’s friend and artist, Newton Bartley, maintained their

friendship and gave assistance over these years.

David loved puzzles and puzzle-making, doing algorhythms just for fun in

the evening. He published, with his friend, Brent McGee, Quadrachrostics, a

book of maddening puzzles and The Pages of History, a collection of

documents that have, in some critical way, shaped our world. He enjoyed

and deeply appreciated his many friends around the world with whom he

shared cultural and enriching exchanges.

On July 26, 2025, David died quietly in his sleep and will be remembered

always for his brilliance of mind, generosity and devotion to his family,

earnestness in the performance of his gifts to the world.

He requested that there be no funeral. His family will gather on Zoom and

his cremains will be dispersed according to his wishes. He is preceded in

death by his sister Margaret Steele, her husband Jack Steele, their daughter

Jamie Steele of Olympia; his brother John F. Carney of Olympia; his

brother-in-law Donald Saxby. He is survived by his sister, Ellen Saxby of

Minnetonka, MN; Eido Frances Carney of Olympia, WA; nine nieces and

one nephew of California, Washington, Switzerland, and United Kingdom;

six great nieces and nephews of Washington, New York, North Carolina,

United Kingdom, and Belgium.