Obituary

David Sheffield Ingalls, age 78, passed away on March 16th surrounded by family at his home in La Jolla, California. He was born in Summit County, New Jersey on October 24, 1944 to Virginia Burkhardt Wells and David Bagby Ingalls and spent his childhood in Westfield, New Jersey. He went to prep school at Lawrenceville and then earned a Bachelor of Science in Business at the University of Kansas where he served as President of the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity. He then earned a Master’s degree in Business at Cornell University. David went on to become a part owner of 16 restaurants in New Jersey and then sole owner of four restaurants in Westchester County, New York and Greenwich, Connecticut called Kit n’ Caboodle, Bartholomew’s, Jonathan Seagull and Jonathan’s Other Brother. He resided during these years in Bedford and Katonah, New York where he helped raise his three children from his first marriage. David remarried in 1991 to Marsha Stewart. Following his success in the restaurant business, David decided to make a career change and earned a Masters of Arts in Education at Manhattenville College in New York. He taught at New Canaan Country School in New Canaan, Connecticut until he moved to Scottsdale, Arizona and taught at Phoenix Country Day School. David loved reading to children and upon moving to La Jolla in 2004, he began volunteering his time reading to homeless youth at the Monarch School in San Diego and through the Words Alive program. While in La Jolla, he also owned and operated three California-based GolfTEC franchises. He loved every day that he went to work or volunteered, whether it was in the restaurant, classroom or GolfTEC. When he wasn’t working, David stayed busy. He enjoyed playing tennis and was an avid golfer and long-time member of the La Jolla Country Club where he served on the board for 3 years. He is one of a lucky few to claim multiple hole-in-ones over his golfing career. He loved going to the movies or could often be found relaxing on the beach at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club, reading or playing a game of cards of Dominoes. He was also a lifelong fan of his Kansas Jayhawks and remained forever faithful to his New York sports teams making time to catch as many games as he possibly could. David also made time throughout his life to travel. Bermuda, Turkey and Prague were among his favorite places to visit and he made it a priority to return to New York every few years to see the latest on and off Broadway shows and art exhibits. David was proud to be the great-grandson of John James Ingalls, US Senator of Kansas, who worked to make Kansas a free state, and grandson of Sheffield Ingalls who served as Lieutenant Governor of Kansas. The statue of Senator John James Ingalls stood in the National Statutory Hall in Washington, DC from 1905-2022. Marsha endearingly refers to David as a “solid citizen.” He made the most of life and will be remembered among his family and friends for his competitive spirit, dry-wit humor and candor. David is survived by his two daughters, Liesl Anne McNamara of Yorktown, Virginia and her five children: Maggie, Jack, Danny, Caitlin and Rachel and great-granddaughter, Lily; and Virginia Katherine Jones of Arvada, Colorado and her two sons, Broderick and Gavin and newly adopted dog, Diego; his stepsister, Annie Clifford of Marblehead, Massachusetts; his wife of 30 years, Marsha Ingalls and her daughter, Deidre Hamilton, and children Sullivan and McKenna Winesett. He is preceded in death by his son, Keith Rockwell Ingalls, and brother, John James Ingalls. David will be laid to rest at the Fairview Cemetery in Westfield, New Jersey. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Words Alive in honor of David’s love of reading at https://app.donorview.com/xXlmZ or https://www.wordsalive.org/donate