IN MEMORIAM
Dave with his son, Jack
David Cantin ’86
oldest troop in Santa Barbara. He led many back-country hikes, 50-mile spring-break camping trips,and summer camps at Emerald Bay, Catalina Island, and he annually participated in the Montecito Fourth of July Parade and the Montecito Beautification Day.
Dave Cantin ’86 died as a result of the Montecito mudslides that occurred on January 9, 2018. Dave was 49 years old. Dave’s wife, Kim, and daughter, Lauren, were injured in the mudslides, and his son, Jack, 17, remains missing. David was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on May 7, 1968 and spent his early years in Warren, Rhode Island. He grew up in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, and graduated from Portsmouth Abbey School in 1986.
Dave also was active in the Santa Barbara adult league baseball team, playing catcher and #4 in the batting line up.
While matriculating at Bryant University, he was awarded an internship with a medical device start-up company called Ultracision, which hired him after he graduated with a degree in management. This company was acquired by a Johnson & Johnson Company, Ethicon Endo-Surgery, and it was there he met his wife, Kim. Dave enjoyed over a 20-year career in the medical device industry, where he valued the impact that the various technologies could offer patients – be it a less invasive option or enabling better surgery. In 1999, Dave and Kim moved to Carlsbad, California; it was in Carlsbad that Dave became the proud father to John (Jack), and two years later to Lauren. It was also during this time that Dave completed his MBA from Xavier University. The Cantin family moved back to Cincinnati for work, and there Dave made wonderful neighborhood friends and enjoyed golfing and family camping trips. In 2010, Dave and the family relocated to Santa Barbara, California. Once in Montecito Dave became more involved in Boy Scouts, serving as scoutmaster of Troop 33, the second
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Dave will be remembered for his warm smile and his positive energy. He was the guy who would always make time for people and lend a helping hand. Dave was led by his values of faith, family, and the goal to make a positive difference. He was a devoted and loving husband, dad, son and friend to many. Dave is survived by his wife, Kimberly Miller Cantin, and his cherished daughter, Lauren Elizabeth. His son, John (Jack) Cantin, is on the list of missing people from the mudslides. David was the son of Kathleen Smith Cantin of East Providence and Richard Cantin of North Carolina. David was predeceased by an elder brother, Michael. Additionally Dave is survived by his step-mother, Marie Cantin of North Carolina; his Aunt Patricia, his in-laws, Willard and Anita Miller of Niagara Falls, Canada; several cousins and a host of friends. A funeral service for Dave was held at the Santa Barbara Mission on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2018, followed by interment at the Santa Barbara Cemetery on Channel Drive on February 5, 2018. The thoughts and prayers of the Portsmouth Abbey community are with Dave and his family.
P ORTSM O U T H A BB E Y S C HO OL