Allen David McNab ’62

A. David McNab, 81, of Kingston, Rhode Island passed away peacefully on Dec. 21, 2022. Son of A. Douglas, and Elizabeth “Betty” (Crown) McNab, Dave graduated from Belmont High School and received a BS degree from Bates College in 1962. It was there that he met his wife Elizabeth Metz McNab ’64 of 58 years. Immediately following Dave’s graduation from Bates, he taught science and was a houseparent at the Hinckley School in Maine. Upon Elizabeth’s graduation, they together headed to University of Alaska–Fairbanks to pursue Master degrees. Returning to New England, they settled in Kingston and Dave further studied Oceanography at the Univ. of Rhode IslandI for a period before embarking on a career teaching Science and Computer Science at Moses Brown School Middle school, retiring in 2008 after 35 years. 

Dave was an active enthusiast of the outdoors, canoeing in Maine and the Boundary Waters, hiking with Outward Bound, working with leatherback sea turtles in Costa Rica, a lifelong member of the Appalachian Mountain Club and much more. He also enjoyed sharing the outdoors with others, acting as Scout Master of BSA Troop 1 in Kingston and as summer caretaker for the AMC’s Swan’s Falls Campground in Fryeburg, Maine. Woodworking was another hobby and Dave crafted many clever items. An active member of the Providence Friends Meeting, he had a deep commitment to their tenets of peace and social justice.

He was extremely passionate in supporting LGBTQ youth, spending many years working with such groups as PFLAG and YouthPride. Having seen during his years teaching in middle school a need that was not being met, he jumped feet first into helping make sure that all children were able to feel loved and supported. Dave is survived by his wife Elizabeth Metz McNab and his two children and their spouses, Allan D. ’88 and Sidney McNab of Hyde Park, Mass., and Deborah and Warren Jennings of Richmond, R.I. He is fondly remembered by grandchildren A. Douglas McNab ’18, William McNab, Zachary Jennings, and Reese Jennings.