Dear Editor
Today I am truly saddened to think that a brilliant light in our communities and world has been extinguished. David Gin was such a light onto all of us who were privileged to spend a few moments in time with him, David and his brother Doug were an inspiration and challenge to each of us who were given the opportunity teach and learn from them. Each one constantly striving for perfection in whatever endeavors they chose to pursue.
David went to sleep Monday evening to awaken in the presence of his Heavenly father, leaving behind a wife and two young children. Our loss is Heaven’s gain.
Throughout his life, David was driven by a desire to learn and share the knowledge he acquired with others. From the time that, while working in his father’s restaurant he began mixing various ingredients to achieve new taste sensations, to the time that he was working on new molecular structures in organic chemistry developing a vaccine for cancer, David never lost his curiosity.
The mind is a beautiful thing that each of us possess yet is often left untapped. It has been said that most of us use around three percent of its potential. The difference between the norm and genius is between two and four percent. Both Doug and David were constantly striving to develop and utilize their potential for the benefit of humankind. Today it remains for Doug to continue developing new ideas while his brother David pursues new ventures.It is often difficult being labeled a “nerd” by your peers because you choose to expand your mental horizons in school. David possessed a rare gift, the ability to transcend those labels and be a friend to all he met. He was a mentor to many of his classmates, sharing his knowledge freely with those around him.
He returned to Ashcroft from his home in New York, where he worked at the Sloan Kettering Cancer Institute, around a year ago, to challenge students at Ashcroft Secondary School to expand their horizons. For the past 25 years the Gin family has presented a scholarship to a student graduating from Ashcroft Secondary School, who has chosen to pursue academic excellence.
Lest we forget, each of us possesses the potential to achieve greatness, no matter what the circumstances. David and his brother Doug are beacons, shining forth as to what you can achieve, even if you come from a small rural community with limited resources.
I would like to challenge each of us young and old to challenge ourselves to strive each day to reach our potential as I truly believe that David did.
Mike Baldwin
Ashcroft