David Goslin

David Alexander Goslin

October 27, 1936 to December 28, 2024

 “Looking back, I realize I have done a lot of fishing in my life - not only for fish, but also for new experiences and adventures, for special people, for challenges, and for opportunities to make a difference in the world. I have been very lucky to have caught so many of each.”

From Stories of My Life, 2016

 Biography:

Born in New York City, David spent the first six years of his life in and near the city. When his father died, his mother remarried and moved the family to Berkeley, California, where he graduated from high school before returning east to attend college. An honors graduate in psychology at Swarthmore College in 1958, David subsequently received his masters and doctorate degrees in sociology from Yale University in 1960 and 1962. Following graduate school, he joined the Russell Sage Foundation in New York and held adjunct teaching positions at six different universities and published five books in the field of sociology over a 13-year period. David moved to Washington, DC in 1974 and spent 13 years as Executive Director of the Commission of Behavioral and Social Sciences of the National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences. He was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1982. David was President and CEO of the American Institutes for Research (AIR) from 1987 to 2001, an independent, nonprofit research organization. When he retired, AIR had grown to become the preeminent nonprofit behavioral and social science research institution in the country. Following his retirement, he authored Engaging Minds, Motivation and Learning in America’s Schools in 2003 and co-authored Tee to Green: A Guide to Golf after 50, with his sister-in-law, Mary Beth McGirr. 

 In addition to his professional contributions to the behavioral and social sciences, education, and public policy, David fostered a longstanding love of color painting, and since 1982 created more than 180 acrylic paintings. While living for 28 years in Lake Barcroft in Northern Virginia, David and his wife raised two children, David and Christopher. He became actively involved and served for 12 years on the board of the Lake Barcroft Association, including two different terms as board president. In addition to supporting the kids in all their educational and extracurricular pursuits, David loved swimming in the lake, fishing, enjoying lively conversations with neighbors, attending theatrical productions, and playing tennis, golf, touch football, and bridge. In addition, he loved to travel and took the family to many exotic locations, a pursuit he continued into retirement. His final book, Stories of My Life, was self-published in 2016 and promoted to all his friends with a friendly encouragement to do something similar.

 In 2016, David moved to The Landings just outside of Savannah, where he continued his enjoyment of sports, travel, and bridge. In addition, he began to really appreciate and enjoy the music scene and Savannah, and loved the American Traditions Vocal Competition, the Savannah Philharmonic, as well as a variety of local cabarets and jazz singers. David was always up for a new adventure, a new taste thrill, and striking up a conversation with people he didn’t know. He volunteered with L.O.V.E. mentors and served on the community board for the United Way of Coastal Georgia.

 David is survived by his wife of 42 years, Nancy McGirr and their two sons and respective families: David Goslin and Laura Degitz and their children Natalie, Rebecca, and Alexander of Northern Virginia; and Christopher and Genevieve Goslin of Washington, DC. He is also survived by a daughter from a previous marriage: Jean Davis Goslin and her husband Yan Lachowicz of Bloomfield, CT (as well as her daughter Lisa), and by a half-sister in Mahopac, NY, Meredith Laubin. 

 David’s family will host a drop-in Celebration of Life at 35 Sundew Road on Saturday, January 25 from 3:00 to 6:00 and in Falls Church on February 8. The family suggests that remembrances be made to one of David’s favorite charities: ATCSavannah.org to honor his love of music; LoopitUpSavannah.com for his devotion to art and early childhood education; or to ACLU.org because of his desire to foster social justice for the disadvantaged.

 Personal Remembrance:

If you spent much time with David, you undoubtedly were subject to one of his spiels on the ‘The Greats’ – the 5 great soups of the world or the 5 great games. You also likely heard plenty of boasting about his own accomplishments or acquaintances. This may lead you to believe he was a man driven by ambition and success; however, what stands out most in his life story is his enthusiasm for life and the connections he made with so many different people.

 David was never more in his element than when he was seated at a bar sipping vodka, striking up a conversation with anyone and everyone around. Or taking his friends and family out on a sunset cruise on the lake, telling stories we’d all heard a thousand times before. Or wooing his wife of 42 years (and several other women during his long bachelor years) with his upside-down roast chicken and his smooth dancing skills (he took lessons, he’ll have you know). He had a sharp wit, and a mischievous twinkle in his eye that often made him the center of attention.

 David was also a constant explorer of both new ideas and faraway places. From age 10, hitching train rides and befriending train conductors and fishermen as an only child in the Bay Area, to summers partying on Fire Island with his life-long friends from NYC, to trading his car for a boat and sailing the Mediterranean, to family vacations on safari or sailing the BVIs, to visiting the Galapagos and Antarctica in his later years (among many, many more places), or thinking about how to solve the world’s most vexing social issues. There is no doubt he viewed his life as one great adventure.

 And finally, he was a man of strong emotions. Occasionally quick to anger, but it was always short-lived, and he was all bark and no bite. He was joyful, whether he was laughing while trundling down the field in one of his old-man touch football games or grooving to his favorite Donna Summer song. David was never going to be left behind. To the very end, he was always up for the next adventure, with the possible exception of those that involved long car rides! His heart was full of love for his family and friends, and he cried, oh boy he cried. During commercials, while telling an old story that he loved, and at pretty much every touching movie, TV show, or play he watched.

 So, while yes, David WAS a man of remarkable professional and academic accomplishment, that’s not how we will remember him. But if you ask anyone close to him, they will unequivocally vouch for him as a great friend, father, husband, and grandfather. While he fought off his esophageal cancer for 2.5 years, he rarely complained despite grueling treatments and remained optimistic to the very end that he would be out walking, dancing, and playing golf again. His passing leaves a large hole in all of our hearts, but our loving memories of him will carry us forward.