David Alexander

David Carroll Alexander, 89, of Rochester, MN passed away on October 6, 2025.

David was born on September 2nd 1936 in Peoria, IL to Carroll and Martha "Eleanor" (Helmick) Alexander. David grew up in Rockford, IL and graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in Electrical Engineering.

After graduation, David moved to New York to join IBM.

David met his future wife, Marie (Schnau), in White Plains, New York, and they married in July of 1963. David was eventually transferred to Rochester, MN in 1969 to work on a joint project with the Mayo Clinic to enable computers to monitor multiple ECG devices. David worked on the research team at IBM, and was part of many patentable projects. One of note was for early digital handwriting technology, which David presented at the 1964 World's Fair. David worked for IBM for a total of thirty-five years.

Following retirement, David started wandering the world. He started by hiking across the Grand Canyon. He then hiked to Base Camp 1 at Mt. Everest and Machu Picchu in Peru. At age 63, he summited Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa. With the lack of elevation changes in Rochester to train on, David started doing long distance walking to train for these trips. This led to him completing the Medcity Marathon five times. David was also an avid bicyclist and over the years completed Bike Across America.

David was a prolific volunteer giving thousands of hours each year to helping the community. David spent many years contributing to local causes, including Community Food Response at Bethel Church and Saturday Meals at Christ United Methodist Church. He taught computer classes and maintained PCs at the Senior Center and at his church. In later years, David was a volunteer income tax preparer and trainer, and helped with the building of the Soldiers' Field Park Playground. As a long time member of Kawanis, he tracked his hours and was recognized for contributions greater than 3000 hours in a single year several times.

David is survived by his son, Tim (Rodica Mocan) Alexander, daughter Karen (Mike) Stamp, six grandchildren, Devin (Karen), Nadia, Charlotte (Ben), lan, Seth, and Boaz, and six great-grandchildren, Malon, Karu, Soren, Ellea, Aster, and Neal. He was preceded in death by his wife, Marie, his parents, and his sister Sue.

A funeral service will be held at 1:00pm on Tuesday, October 14, 2025 with a visitation one hour prior at Christ United Methodist Church 400 5th Ave SW, Rochester, MN 55902

Burial will follow the service at Oakwood Cemetery in Rochester.