David Heywood was a friendly and impeccably polite schoolmate.   He did well academically and in his final two years was a member of the newly-created Advanced Mathematics classes.   Here he is at his desk, in a photo snapped by classmate Stuart Russell:

David enjoyed cricket, but seemed to reserve his best efforts for the numerous parties in his final year, where he was a stand-out dancer.  His good manners much impressed the mothers of the girls that he escorted!

David also showed unusual physical agility in his role as Laertes in Hamlet, the school play in 1961. The role called for Laertes to have a sword fight with Hamlet, played by Rory Donnellan (Class of 1958).  Our perfectionist producer,  English master John Nicholls, would have no clumsy scene where two actors merely whacked at each other's fake wooden swords.  Instead, he had David and Rory take lessons at a fencing school, where both quickly became quite competent in duelling with genuine rapiers.  The resulting sword fight was a rapid, dynamic, finely choreographed display that required much leaping, feinting, twirling, and thrusting.  The audience was rapt with amazement!

After leaving school David took a B.Com degree at the University of Natal in Durban, and then went on to complete his articles as a chartered accountant with Cooper and Lybrand.  During these years he became a very accomplished squash player, often vanquishing opponents on the courts at the Durban Country Club. 

David met Dale Dickerson in 1966 and they married the following year.  They had two daughters, Sandra-Lynne and Genevieve.

After completing his studies, David worked for Natal Steam Laundries and then Kooi Aluminium in Durban, and then took an executive position with Rowen, part of the Toyota supply chain.  Here is a photo of David from those days:

David was then offered the position of Financial Director of Stateline Pressed Metal in Queenstown in the Eastern Cape;  and then in 1986 he moved to the Western Cape to become Financial Director of the Belleville Municipality.  Finally, he moved to Cape Town to assume a new job as Executive Director of Financial Services for the South Peninsula.  When Cape Town integrated all metropolitan councils, David became Deputy Director for Finance for the whole Cape Metropol until his retirement.  Colleagues remember him well, their impression summed up in one word: efficient!

David maintained excellent physical fitness throughout his life.  He was a lifelong vegetarian and had an intense early morning gym routine, starting at 5.00 am so that he could be at his desk at 7.30 am every day.  He continued playing squash and represented Western Province well into his fifties.

Local members of the Class of 1961 were able to reconnect with David at a group lunch in Cape Town in 2016.  Here's a photo of David on that occasion:

....And not surprisingly, our accountant volunteered to sort out the bill and tip at the end of the meal!

David was an avid lover of cars, and for many years he and Dale drove matching white cars with unique number plates -- Woody 1 for him and Woody 2 for Dale ("Woody" being their affectionate name for each other).  But David's greatest love outside of his family was music. He was a fan of the songs of the 60's, 70's, and 80's, and could sing a great many of the songs of that era,  word perfect.   David had a fine, tremulous voice, with an ability to hold a tune even when singing in falsetto.

Unfortunately David had a series of strokes over the past few years, which began to affect his memory.   However he was well enough to attend another lunch with classmates in 2018:

(From the left, Wilma Cruise, Janet Gray, Terry Dowdall, Nick Gray, John Cruise, Bill Tomlinson, Bill's partner, Anthony Hill, and David.)

Here is one of the last photos of David, taken at his home in Cape Town:

However David's health continued to deteriorate until he developed dementia and, in the last year of his life, Altzheimer's disease.   David passed away at home on 5 December 2022.

David Heywood is survived by Dale, his wife of 55 years;  his daughter Genevieve; and his daughter Sandra-Lynne and her family of husband Francois, daughters Natasha and Clarissa, and their sons Eli and Jax --- making David a great grandfather.

[Special thanks to our classmate Anthony Hill for his help with this In Memoriam notice]