Dave DiCesare’s influences in and around Vancouver are pretty hard to miss.
Even if people don’t recognize his name, there is a good chance they’ve explored Vancouver’s downtown library or strolled through Officers Row. They’ve likely walked over the Vancouver Land Bridge or visited Esther Short Park.
Those are some of the projects in which DiCesare, who died Thursday, played a role.
“He had an impact on thousands of people who don’t even know who he is,” Rick Melching noted.
Melching, former president of the Community Foundation for Southwest Washington, is among those who are remembering DiCesare as a good friend and community advocate. DiCesare was receiving home hospice care for a rare form of leukemia when he died; he was 66.
The family has not announced any plans for a service. A scholarship fund in DiCesare’s name is being established at the Community Foundation.
DiCesare (pronounced da-ches-er-ray) had several city and county roles in his career. He also was part of local nonprofits — particularly groups that focused on heritage, history and education.
Jane Jacobsen recalled how the Vancouver Land Bridge became a high-profile piece of the local landscape. In 1999, she was working at what then was the Vancouver National Historic Reserve Trust and DiCesare was the city’s historic reserve program manager. As the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition approached, some of their discussions resulted in the Confluence Project. It’s represented locally by the Land Bridge over state Highway 14.
And in a “by the way” moment, Jacobsen continued: “You can add the county’s recycling effort. David was instrumental in getting that going.”
“David was a true Renaissance man,” said John Fischbach, Vancouver city manager from 1990 to 1995.
DiCesare and recently retired city Councilor Larry Smith were assistants to Fischbach back then. DiCesare initiated the Esther Short Redevelopment Plan; it included tearing down an old brewery building, a key to the makeover of downtown Vancouver.
“He was responsible for the vision of downtown: Get rid of the brewery and open up Esther Short Park to the community,” Fischbach said.
It was a bold move, recalled former city attorney Ted Gathe.
“A municipality buying five city blocks — that doesn’t happen all the time. Dave was a serious part of that,” said Gathe.
“He worked on annexation as well,” Gathe said. “He was part of the team when we achieved the biggest annexation in state history in 1997.”
Gathe added that DiCesare and his family — wife Lynn and their two daughters — were friends and neighbors.
Also in the public realm, DiCesare completed the cooperative management plan for the Vancouver National Historic Reserve, and helped form the county neighborhood association program.
In another public-agency role, DiCesare was the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District’s planner for its capital facilities campaign 15 years ago.
“David worked on our planning process so we could develop a proposal that had public support,” said Bruce Ziegman, former executive director of the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District.
“Working with him was absolutely delightful,” Ziegman added. Like several others, Ziegman described DiCesare as someone who could see the big picture, in terms of time as well as geography: “He had a vision for the community as a whole, and he was there for the long haul.”
“He wanted to be part of the solution instead of being on the outside, whining,” Smith said.
DiCesare also had the ability to turn a vision into something more substantial, said state Rep. Sharon Wylie, D-Vancouver.
“It’s easy to have great thoughts,” Wylie, who is married to Gathe, said by phone from Olympia. “It’s harder to put them together with the skills to make them happen 20 years down the road. David could take that big vision, make sure all the pieces were in place, then figure out what we need to do going forward and make adjustments along the way. That’s a real talent.”
