Obituary of David M. Strong

It is with a heavy heart that we mourn the passing of David M. Strong, on February 7, 2024, after a battle with congestive heart disease and other organ failures. He was at home in Bluffton, South Carolina when he passed.

David was born on March 12, 1943, in Washington, D.C. He was proceed in death by his Father, Colonel James Donald Strong, and Mother Marie Elizabeth (Zemke) Strong and his faithful four legged companion Champ Strong. He is survived by his wife Mary Catherine Strong, children Stacy Strong (Asheville, NC) and Forrest Batson (Charlotte, NC) as well as daughter in law, Amanda, his three hugely adored grandchildren Miles, Kennedy, and Asher and his three siblings Roger, Jonathan & Monica.

David was fluent in Italian after being stationed in Caserma Ederle Army Base in Vicenza, Italy during his service to the U.S. Army. David returned to the Washington, D.C.- Northern Virginia area after his military service to finish his education. He then moved to Destin, Florida to begin his real estate career. In 1975, David moved to Hilton Head Island and continued his career in commercial real estate throughout his life.

David lived his life according to his standards of loving people and life. He lived out his dream of living the “dulce vita” in Italy after he and Mary Catherine purchased an apartment in Gubbio, Italy in 2019. Gubbio is in Umbria the province of Perugia in central Italy.

It was fate that they chose Gubbio, a medieval walled city adjacent to the beauty of the Tuscany region, after David was nurtured back to health after a severe injury while on a Truffle Hunt there with friends in 2008. They will be forever grateful for Gubbio and how their friends embraced them and provided for them during David’s surgery and rehabilitation. They were unable to return to the U.S. for two months due to David’s injury. It was through this unexpected injury that they discovered their second home. For five years, they lived in both locations. They have been blessed with wonderful friends (like family) and cherished memories.

A celebration of life will be held on March 12, 2024 at Belfair’s Clubhouse at 1:00 pm.