It is with great sadness that the LightHouse announces the recent passing of much loved teacher and colleague, David Baioni.
David began his Rehabilitation Teaching career long before the LightHouse, and we were so glad he joined our team in September, 2000. David was a true educator, teaching with passion, patience and gusto. He was honest and straightforward, generously sharing his personal experience with low vision, and he always looked to create a connection with his students. From teaching cooking and independent living skills, working with patients in the low vision clinic or hopping on Muni and hiking up the stairways of his students’ apartment buildings with a backpack of bump dots, magnification aides and teaching tools, David truly shared and demonstrated options and possibilities with each student. He will truly be missed by his colleagues and students.
There will be a Funeral Mass celebrating David’s life on Wednesday, November 21 at 10:00 a.m. at Immaculate Conception Chapel, 3255 Folsom Street, San Francisco.
In the new year, the LightHouse will establish a fund in David’s name to support the work he so believed in, training people to be as independent as they wanted to be. We will follow up with information on this at a later date. In addition to his work as a teacher, David was a wonderful musician and a musical fixture at Café Trieste in North Beach. While he played many instruments, he was well-known and revered in accordion circles. Here is a YouTube video which demonstrates David’s musical side.
David’s family sent us the following, which we are grateful to be able to share:
David Julius Baioni passed away at the age of 62 in San Francisco, where he lived all of his life. David was the beloved husband of Deborah Atencio Baioni, loving father of Sequoia and Melodie Baioni, and proud grandfather of Spencer Baioni. He now joins his parents, Julius and Margaret Baioni, who preceded him in death. David leaves behind adoring family members and friends with whom he celebrated his love of life and music. We will remember him as a devoted, loving person, and as an accomplished accordionist and pianist. His memory and his music will live forever in our hearts.
I am very sad to hear the news of David’s passing. Though I have only met him a couple of times, I have fond memories of his humor and his integrity. When we talked about cooking or low vision equipment, we had fun sharing ideas and talking of our experiences of being visually impaired. I was looking forward to seeing him again and talking of how I could help him with training others how to cook and make use of a kitchen setting. I will miss him. My condolences to his family and friends.
Dan O’Connor