On April 19, 2025, David Patrick Ovitt, age 64, of South Burlington, Vt., gracefully yielded to his evil opponent, cancer, and departed this Earth for one last adventure on the Other Side.
David “Pat” was born on April 12, 1961, at Kerbs Memorial Hospital in St. Albans, Vt. He was the eldest of what would be four children born to David and Cora Ovitt.
David spent his early years in Bakersfield and Shelburne, where he loved telling stories. He played the flute in the school band, sang tenor in the chorus and acted in the yearly theatrical productions, playing Snoopy, the lion in The Wizard of Oz and Mr. Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank. He and his siblings spent a great deal of time outdoors, building forts, playing characters from popular television shows, and enjoying the woods and farmland around his home. David also loved spending time attending to his much-loved plants and garden. In later years he enjoyed spending time at his camp on Lake Carmi with son Owen and dear friend Vine.
While he was an undergraduate at the University of Vermont, David worked at Al’s French Frys and the Little Professor Bookstore on Church Street. He began his nursing career (his true vocation) in the Pediatric ICU at Fletcher Allen Hospital. He later provided in-home care to children needing mechanical support. More recently he worked as a nurse case manager for Vermont’s Choices for Care program.
During David’s time working in pediatrics, he fostered and cherished two infants with critical medical needs, Christopher and Michael. In 1999 he adopted his son, Owen, who is currently thriving in Burlington and making his father proud every day.
David’s travels spanned the globe. With his friends Bill and Christina, he quested for sloths (and ran from spiders) in Costa Rica, slid down sand dunes in Namibia, drank pilsner in Prague, climbed Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh’s fog, walked starry-eyed through Hobbiton in New Zealand, and admired neolithic dwellings in Orkney. Sadly, he was not granted enough time on this Earth to visit Petra in Jordan or his ancestral village, Tring, in England.
David was also interested in traveling through time. In his 46 years of involvement with the Society for Creative Anachronism, he spent occasional weekends as Magister Dafydd o Llyn Cwellyn, a Welshman living on the Mercian border with the Saxons in the 10th century. He was known as a brewer, archer, beekeeper, feast cook, herald, needleworker and singer of songs. His gentle ways and steady service will be missed.
David is survived by his son, Owen Ovitt; his siblings, Michael Ovitt and wife Ursula; Kimberly Ovitt and husband Lucien Lesniak; and Brian Ovitt and wife Karen; nieces, Elisabeth Upton, Rebekah Ovitt and significant other Nick Sennett, and Katie Ovitt; nephew Kyle Ovitt; and dear friends Vine Crandall and Christina and her husband, William. David is predeceased by his parents.
His friends and family are grateful for the compassionate care David received from the BAYADA Hospice Team and the staff at Elderwood.
If you would like to make a gesture in his memory, please send a donation to the Vermont Foodbank or to the social service organization of your choice.
David’s ashes will be interred in the family plot in Bakersfield, and a celebration of his life will be held at a future date.
Condolences, photos and favorite memories may be shared through gossfs.com.