In Memoriam

• Publication year: 2023
• Citation: Vol. 49 No. 2

IN MEMORIAM Vol. 49 No. 2 Pg. 28 Vermont Bar Journal June, 2023

David Santos

David Manuel Santos, 67, of Huntington, died unexpectedly on June 18, 2023 in Huntington, Vermont. David was born December 20, 1955 in Fall River, Massachusetts, the only child of Manuel and "Bella" (Balbina) Santos. David's father served in the Army in WWII and was later a postal worker on the overnight mail train from Providence to New York. He also played several musical instruments and loved to cook. He often took Bella and David on "mystery drives," taking a seemingly random route and eventually ending up somewhere fun, typically an ice cream stand at one of the many creameries that still existed at that time. David continued this tradition. David's mother was a gifted seamstress who worked until she retired in a textile factory in Fall River. She attended church every day. Both were hardworking, first-generation Americans whose parents were from the Azores. David was an altar boy until his father's unexpected death when David was twelve. David went to Fall River Catholic schools from kindergarten through high school, graduating from Bishop Connolly in 1973. David's working class, Catholic, Fall River roots remained central to his identity, though he became an atheist. At 17, during the Vietnam war, following in his father's footsteps, he voluntarily enlisted in the U.S. Army. After his Army service, he served in the National Guard.

David attended Northeastern University, working nights as a security guard. One of his Northeastern co-ops was with Rhode Island Legal Services which inspired him to become a civil legal services lawyer and was where he met his first wife and mother of his children, Lillian Moy. David graduated from Emory University School of Law in 1984 having "booked" Administrative Law. His first job as a lawyer was with Georgia Legal Services. He loved to talk about his experiences circuit riding to rural counties and rural life in Georgia, particularly the unparalleled peaches. David went on to work providing civil legal services for poor people until his death, working in turn for Georgia Legal Services (Milledgeville); Legal Assistance of Central Massachusetts (Fitchburg); Northeast New Jersey Legal Services (Patterson); Western Mass Legal Services (Springfield), and, finally, Legal Services Vermont. He was a career legal services lawyer, helping thousands of poor people protect their rights to housing, income, and safety.

David loved...