David Straud

David Haynes Straud died peacefully on February 10, 2022 in Denver, Colorado, surrounded by his wife Susi of 48 years, their two children, David and Alejandra and granddaughter Maya. He is also survived by his brother Michael A. Straud.

David was born on April 23, 1935 in Milwaukee Wisconsin, the son of
James Earl Straud and Mary Virginia Blekaitis. During World War II, his family lived in Oakland, California where his cousin "Blek", a navy officer, would come and visit. Influenced by the drawing of cartoons that his cousin would create for him made him, later in life, chose the arts as his career. He attended Miami University in Oxford Ohio, where he graduated with a Bachelor Degree in Fine Arts, and where he was also a member of PI KAPPA ALPHA Fraternity.

Soon after college he started working for Procter and Gamble and over 43 years he worked in Cincinnati, England, Mexico City, Venezuela, and Belgium. In May of 2000 he retired as a design manager, and in 2006 David and Susi settled in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Here David began to expand his art work, drawing the many historic and picturesque corners of the city, as well as its surrounding areas. After 14 years, in 2018, David and Susi moved to Denver, Colorado to be closer to their children.

David was known for forgetting and mixing up names, as well as his difficulty in leaning languages. When living in Belgium and trying to learn French he would end up speaking in Spanish, and when living in Mexico and trying to communicate in Spanish, he would end up speaking in French. But his art was his primary language; no matter what country he was in and what language was spoken, a piece of paper and a pencil would suffice to help him open doors and communicate with others. He brought joy drawing for the kids at the children's hospital, and to the servers in restaurants drawing cartoons for them on napkins or table cloths. And he brought back life and recognition to the old and historic buildings he loved to draw.

He is and will be dearly missed.
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