Creating Places: A Citizen Observer's Look at Nashville's Built Environment


Writer's Note: William Williams' interest in the manmade environment dates to 1970, at which point the then-young Williams started a collection of postcards of city skylines. The collection now numbers 1,000-plus cards. Among the writer's specific interests are exterior building design, city district planning, demographics, signage, mixed-use development, mass transit and green/sustainable construction and living. Williams began his Creating Places column with The City Paper in February 2005. The column in its original form was discontinued in September 2008 and reinvented via this blog in November 2008. Creating Places can be found on the home page of the website of The City Paper, at which Williams has worked in various capacities since October 2000.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Creating Places: Rest in peace, Dave

Those of us who follow Nashville's built environment have lost a dear friend with the death this week of Dave "It's Just Dave" Luna.

Some readers of this blog site might not have met Dave, so let me say he was a class gentleman who was passionate about architecture, construction, planning and place making. In the mid-2000s, Dave was a regular at the Urban Planet Nashville Chapter monthly meetings and his contributions to the discourse were significant. But during the past two to three years, Dave attended our meetings only on occasion. I suppose his health was a factor. On a positive note, Dave did make our December meeting and it was great to see him.

Dave lived in Inglewood and loved the east side and yard work. He also thrilled to taking drives through the city in his convertible. I enjoyed a few such drives with Dave at the wheel.

David Lune was 58. May he rest in peace.

Good-bye, my brother.
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2 comments:

  1. SuzanneJanuary 19, 2012 at 5:34 PM

    My brother indeed was passionate about our ciry and relished every creative entry upon the landscape as much as he cherished the land and its natural...or frequently enhanced beauty. Somehow the "Dave" moniker sounds strange to my ears. He was always David to family. He loved us ( his family...mom, sisters and brothers-in law, former borther in law, aunts, uncles cousins, dear friends Ricky and Brad..and he loved other friends, co-workers as deeply and passionately as anyone could. He considered himself a foodie and cooked with as much care as he tended his beautiful, trimmed with scissors garden.
    The lesson we derive from my brother's life and example is that we take absolutely nothing in this life for granted; we see beauty in everything, Love with everything in us, give all that is ours to give, appreciate the vastness, the mystery and essential spiritual connection in all that is. Nothing is lost in all creation and I along with so many others feel so blessed to have shared this life with a very special human being.
    His was a life well and magnificently lived.

    Rest in peace my brother, rest in peace.
    D

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  2. AnonymousJanuary 20, 2012 at 10:46 AM

    David was a shining example of what a TRUE FRIEND is. I count myself blessed to have met David and to have become a very close friend with him. I remember him calling be very early on Saturday mornings and telling me to grab a change of clothes and get over to his house. When I got there, we were off to unknown places.
    David love to drive and share with me all the beauty of nature and everything that surrounded me. I have fond memories of picking up plants and bushes that others had thrown out and David would trim them, plant them and nurse them back the beautiful plants and sculptures in his yard.
    He was always ready to share his plants and love for gardening with anyone that wanted his help.
    This world was so blessed to have had David in it and I know that I will always treasure the memories that David and I shared. I love David and always will. The heavens will shine so much brighter now that they have David there tending their gardens.

    Brad Klein

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