Lasting Memories

David Archelaus Crump
Aug. 15, 1927-Feb. 29, 2016
Palo Alto, California

David Archelaus Crump died on Feb. 29, 2016, surrounded by family and friends after a brief illness. He was 88. Beloved of so many people he touched in his life and work, David created community wherever he went. An Episcopal priest and marriage and family counselor, he is renowned as the founder of The Essential Experience Workshop (EE), helping people create a richer relationship with self and others. He conducted EE over 30 years, until he was 80 years old. He loved to say, "Trust the Process."

David loved life and pursued a wide variety of passions. He was an avid artist, engaging with pottery-making, oil painting, acting and journal/memoir writing. He was also an apiarist; loved walking, yoga and gardening; and recently purchased an organic avocado and tangerine ranch in Ojai. David and Anne-Ly traveled around the world.

In 1980 he met Anne-Ly. They married and had a son, Christopher. David and Anne-Ly were longtime members of All Saints Episcopal Church in Palo Alto, California, and Grace Cathedral in San Francisco.

David's family with the late Annie Harris, whom he had married in 1953, are Sarah, Elizabeth, Ted, Alex and Samuel. David and Annie informally adopted Henry when Henry's mother died, after David had stayed with Henry's family when he marched with Martin Luther King in Selma, Alabama.

Born on Aug. 15, 1927 in Saugerties, New York, David was the son of Benjamin and Frances Crump. He moved to Alfred, New York, in 1939 for high school and served in the Merchant Marines from 1944-46.

After the war, David graduated from Alfred University and the Virginia Theological Seminary. He then served as rector at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Brockport, New York, and chaplain of Hobart College, Geneva, New York. He opened the mission in Cupertino, California, that became St. Jude's Church, and also served as associate priest at St. James in Newport Beach, California.

He trained to be a marriage and family counselor and touched thousands of lives with his Essential Experience Workshop in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York City, Boston, Martha's Vineyard, Hanover, and Philadelphia. He also facilitated The Wilderness Workshop in the High Sierras.

A man of deep faith, lively humor, remarkable talents, and sincere and genuine care, David will be loved and remembered by Anne-Ly, Christopher, Allie, Dahlia, Sama, Kaiya and all his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren: Sarah, Lucas and Cornelius; Elizabeth, Victor, Aaron and Gina; Ted, India, Brian, Jenna and Declan; Brayden, Owen and Hannah; Alex, Nikki and Dustin; Samuel, Colleen and Samuel Jr.; Laura, Jonathan and Catherine; and Henry, Ann and Nicolas.