David Isham, the 89-year-old patriarch of Isham Family Farm in Williston, died on December 7 in the farmhouse bedroom next to the one in which he was born, according to his eldest son, Mike Isham. The understated, hardworking lifelong farmer and respected local figure gained a higher profile when he and his wife, Ginger, were featured in an episode of the 2021 Netflix docuseries “My Love: Six Stories of True Love.” The series takes viewers all over the world, and the Ishams represent the U.S. in an hourlong episode that follows them through 2019.
Mike and his younger brother, Doug, said their father died from complications of dementia. A few scenes in the Netflix episode about the Ishams make it clear that David was starting to experience memory loss. The show directly addressed the realities of aging. In one poignant moment, the couple walk through the farm’s sugar bush and David says, “This is where I want my ashes.” Mike confirmed that will happen as his father wished.
David lived his whole life on the farm. He and Ginger, who survives him, had six children. Mike, now 64, took over the 108-acre conserved former dairy in 2005 and continued the work of his parents in diversifying the operation. He completed the sale of the family farm to his stepson, Dana Kamencik, this summer. The decision to sell outside the direct family upset some Ishams.
In a written tribute to David, West Virginia filmmaker Elaine McMillion Sheldon, director of the Netflix episode featuring the Ishams, said he “was a dream documentary participant — not because he was eager to be on center stage (he wasn’t) or because he performed for us (he didn’t) … Instead, he invited us to slow down, to witness the beauty of his life as it unfolded naturally: tapping maple trees during sugaring season, walking among the fall colors with Ginger, and resting in his favorite recliner.”
McMillion Sheldon and her team spent one week a month from February 2019 to February 2020 filming the Ishams. Over that time, she said by phone, she got to know them well. In her tribute, she noted that even though David came across as quiet, “he had a playful side” and “dry wit.” The retired farmer also taught her to take time to truly listen, she wrote: “He had a way of finding peace in chaos, of grounding himself and those around him.”
His sons, Mike and Doug, said their father was a loving and stabilizing force in their lives who taught them the value of hard work and personal responsibility from a very young age. “He always said living a rich life was more important than being rich,” Mike recalled.
The brothers, along with their siblings, grew up working on the farm, where the Ishams milked a small Jersey herd until 1993. Doug, 61, said being with his father in the barn was never just about doing chores. “He really engaged us,” Doug said, recalling times his dad came up with word games and math problems as they worked together.
David also set an example, the brothers said. “He never complained. He just did what had to be done,” Mike said. “Didn’t matter if it was raining or cold. If you got a job to do, do it the best you can.”
Doug recalled how “adamant” his father was about keeping a clean barn. He kept it so spotless, Doug said, that one time an inspector visited in summertime when the cows were out to pasture, and “He’s like, ‘You don’t milk cows in the summer?'”
David relished spending time with his many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, his sons said. He also thrived working outside and getting on his tractor. Mike said it was hard over the past couple of years when his dad could no longer drive the tractor, but he took it with equanimity, as he did most things.
When David’s father died in 1986, Mike remembered telling his dad he was sorry for the loss. “He said, ‘What are you sorry about? He lived a good, long, healthy life.'”
A May memorial service is planned on the farm. “My father always loved spring because of what was coming,” Mike said. Details will be announced on Isham Family Farm’s social media.
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