GENTLEMAN AND SCHOLAR
David Guajardo Nance, 64, of Austin, Texas entered eternal rest on August 23, 2016 after a courageous battle with cancer.
Born October 17, 1951 in San Antonio, Texas, David is preceded in death by his father Dwight Jefferson Nance. David is survived by his wife Christy Mallinson Nance; two children, Christiane "CJ" Nance Velasco and Adam Domecq Sebastian Nance; and two grandchildren, Violet Nance and Oscar Nance; as well as his mother, Yvonne Garwood Nance; brothers Jeff, Todd, and Scott Nance; and sister Love Nance.
David attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He was an accomplished entrepreneur and investor with professional experience that included both operational and corporate duties serving as chief executive officer, director and board chairman for a number of private and publicly-held U.S. firms across diverse sectors.
David was active in advising investment funds and companies engaged in a variety of technology sectors including biomedical research, pharmaceuticals, renewable energy, nanotechnology, healthcare and natural resources. He sourced and negotiated numerous public and private financings, venture capital investments and technology development and licensing transactions.
David advised state, federal and sovereign officials on issues related to economic policy, research policy and funding, intellectual property, technology transfer and commercialization of government-sponsored research. He testified before a joint committee of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate on matters of policy, economic development and the National Institutes of Health funding. David served on a number of academic and civic boards, public institutions, and charitable councils in his native Texas, including:
• Member, Executive Advisory Board on Intellectual Property, The University of Texas at Austin
• Member, Board of Visitors, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
• Director, Texas Healthcare & Bioscience Institute
• Member, Industry and Community Affairs Committee, Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas
• Board Member, National Institute for Renewable Energy
In 2004, the Nanotechnology Foundation of Texas established the David G. Nance Award for Outstanding Graduate Research.
In 2006, Mr. Nance received the Albert Einstein Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Life Sciences from the Global Business Leadership Council for his work in developing new, molecular-based cancer therapies. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented the Einstein Award to Mr. Nance at a ceremony in Jerusalem. Co-recipients of the Einstein Award included Nobel Laureate Dr. James Rothman, Wallace Professor of Biomedical Sciences, Professor and Chairman of Cell Biology, Professor of Chemistry and Executive Director, Yale Center for High Throughput Cell Biology, Yale University and Dr. Francis Collins, Director, Human Genome Project.
David shared his love of golf with his family and friends and founded the annual Believers Cup Tournament Invitational. He was active in sport fishing and wing shooting and was a member of the Clove Valley Rod & Gun Club.
A private memorial service for the family will be held near Pebble Beach off the Monterey Peninsula in October.
Memorials may be made to Koinonia House, https://resources.khouse.org/donate
"Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore."
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