David Melville Carson went home to be with the Lord on August 5, 2010 at the Reformed Presbyterian Home in Pittsburgh.  He was born January 30, 1922 in Sparta, Illinois, to Melville Kennedy and Faith (Coleman) Carson, and as a teenager he moved to Seattle, Washington, a city for which he had a lifelong love.  He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Yale University in 1942 and from the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary in 1945, receiving a Ph. D in history from the University of Pennsylvania in 1964.  After seminary he was ordained to the ministry and installed as pastor of the Eastvale Reformed Presbyterian Church.  While pastor he taught several courses at Geneva College, and discovered his calling in teaching.  After his graduate work he returned to Geneva fulltime in 1951 until his retirement in 1992.  Many generations of students testify to his ability to engage and challenge in the classroom.  He was honored with Geneva’s first Teacher of the Year award in 1982, and appointed Samuel  A. Sterrett Professor of Political Philosophy, a chair held by his grandfather, J. M. Coleman. 

Playing the piano was a lifelong joy, particularly in making music with others, especially his grandchildren.  He served on the boards of Beaver County Christian School and the Carnegie Free Library of Beaver Falls.  Though not a native of Beaver County, he took great interest in local history, culminating during his retirement in volunteering at the Vicary House in Freedom.  His early love for the Eastvale R. P. Church never wavered, and he served as a faithful member and elder there as long as he was able.  He published three books, From the Study Window, a compilation of essays written for the Christian Statesman; Pro Christo et Patria, a history of Geneva College on the occasion of its sesquicentennial;, and Transplanted to America, a history of the Reformed Presbyterian Church.   After suffering the cruel losses of Alzheimer’s, he is now fully restored in the presence of the Savior he loved and served.

He is survived by his wife Margaret Ewing Weir whom he married August 22, 1957; daughters Betsy (Galen) Wilson of Dayton, Ohio, and Christi (Bill) Townsend of Beaver Falls; three grandchildren, William, Daniel, and Maggie Townsend, brother James Carson of Beaver Falls, sister Margaret (Delber) McKee of New Wilmington, brother-in-law Richard Weir of Bronxville, New York, and many nieces and nephews.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made to Beaver County Christian School, 510 37th Street, Beaver Falls, PA, 15010, to the David Carson Scholarship Fund at Geneva College, or to the charity of your choice. 

Friends will be received Sunday, 2-4 and 6-8 in the Hill & Kunselman Funeral Home,

www.hillandkunselman.com, 3801 Fourth Avenue, College Hill, Beaver Falls, PA 15010.  A memorial service will be conducted Monday at 11:00 a.m. at the John H. White Chapel, Old Main, Geneva College.  Private interment will be in the Reformed Presbyterian Cemetery, New Galilee.