Yesterday Diane Jonte-Pace, David Pace’s wife let us all know that David had passed away after 6 weeks of hospitalization to bring his leukemia into remission. David had hopes of a bone marrow transplant. What a tragic loss for his family and friends and our photography community.
Here is Diane’s message about David’s passing.
Dear friends,
This is Diane Jonte-Pace, David’s wife. I write with sad news. After more than 6 weeks of hospitalization at Stanford, David passed away this morning. The chemotherapy was ineffective at bringing his leukemia into remission – a requirement for the bone marrow transplant he had hoped to receive. On Monday morning David told me and our daughters that he loved us, and asked the medical team to end the interventions. He requested palliative care for a peaceful death. He spent his final day at home. Our daughters and I were by his side. I know how much he appreciated the support he received from you, his Facebook community. I thank you all for being part of his life. I will continue to monitor his Facebook account periodically. With sorrow and gratitude for your friendship. – Diane
In a few days we open with a collaborative exhibition between David Pace and Stephen Wirtz called WIREPHOTO. David was to do an upcoming exhibition talk and book signing. He called to ask if he could do the talk from the hospital but we told him to focus on getting well and we rescheduled the talk for much later. One never knows what is around the corner.
WIREPHOTO wouldn’t be the first exhibition for David at the Griffin Museum. We exhibited his Burkina Faso: Night and Day in January to March of 2013. David came to Winchester to share his experiences of the brickyards of Karaba and dancing under the stars in the darkness of night in Bereba where the camera flash is the only light. It was a full audience. Those guests still tell stories about his spirited lecture and photographs.
We are committed to keeping David’s photography and spirit of community alive for future audiences. We will speak his name, of his photos and of his journey often, to celebrate this man who danced to life under the stars to a West African Pop beat.
