Dawson Co. civic leader dies

DAWSONVILLE - A retired Army officer, who returned to Dawson County, his boyhood home, after he left the military and immersed himself in its civic affairs, has died.

Lt. Col. Edgar George David, who was 83, lost a four-year battle with cancer Thursday.

Col. David was born in Tampa, Fla., and spent 20 years in the Army before retiring and re-located to Dawson County in 1974.

He spent three years in Gainesville, where he was District Supervisor for VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America). Col. David was a member of the Dawson County Board of Education for eight years, a member of the county Board of Elections and the Board of Equalization, a president of the Dawson County Booster Club, a president and secretary of the Dawsonville Lions Club, and a charter member of the Dawson County Chamber of Commerce and the Lake Lanier Property Owners Association (now the Lake Lanier Association).

He was also an advisor to the Dawson County Homeowners Association, a secretary-treasurer of the Dawson County Development Authority and Industrial Building Authority, and Chairman of the Dawson County Municipal Planning Commission, where he co-authored the first zoning rules and regulations for Dawson County. He was also a founder, charter member, secretary and director of the Board of Directors of the Etowah Water and Sewer Authority, a co-founder of the Dawson County Humane Society, and was instrumental in the founding the Dawson County Republican Party, which both he and his wife chaired for a number of years.

In recognition for his outstanding contributions to the Dawson County community, he was the inspiration and first recipient of the Dawson County Stewardship Award. Shortly after this 78th birthday he was also recognized on a statewide level when Senate Resolution 407 was passed, commending his lifetime of achievements.

The funeral will be Tuesday at 2:00 at the First Baptist Church of Dawsonville.

(A complete obituary can be found on the AccessNorthGa.com Obituaries Page.)