Carl David Elligers

Dave Elligers, who died May 17, 2025 was an unusual Brooklynite – or perhaps the ultimate Brooklynite.

Fiercely proud of Brooklyn as well as extraordinarily knowledgeable regarding the borough’s history, Dave was also fiercely proud of his academic achievements at Harvard as well as of his Norwegian ancestry (on his father’s side) and Mayflower ancestry (on his mother’s side).

Dave was born on July 28, 1940 in Brooklyn to Carl Elligers and Mary (“Mima”) Bennett Elligers. Officially named Carl David Elligers after his father, he never used “Carl” and instead always insisted on “Dave” or, when formality required, “C. David Elligers”. Dave’s father had graduated from Harvard and his mother from Vassar. His father died in 1955 and his mother was largely bedridden with medical issues for decades. Dave was the only child and cared for his mother until her death in 1978.

Dave attended Brooklyn’s Poly Prep Country Day School and then Harvard College, graduating “summa” (top 1%) in 1962. That academic achievement earned Dave a prestigious Marshall Scholarship for two years’ study at Oxford in England. After Oxford, Dave attended Harvard Law School, where he was on the law review and graduated “magna” (top 5%) in 1967.

Dave practiced corporate law at Cahill, Gordon, a major Wall Street law firm until he left the firm in the mid-1970s.

A true Brooklynite, Dave lived his entire life in the same rent-controlled two-bedroom apartment in a pre-war building near Shore Road in Bay Ridge. He was active in the tenant association, providing free legal advice to the association in their dealings with the management.

Never having had a driver’s license (let alone a car), Dave relied on public transit, rides with friends, or his own two feet to get around. He loved walking (but never biking) along the Shore Road Bike Path. The long daily walks kept Dave in good shape, compensating for his cigar-smoking habit.

Dave maintained close relations with his four cousins – Fran in CT (now deceased), Mimi in RI, Ken in CT, and John in VA – as well as with the cousins’ families. Serving as the family-history/genealogy expert, he prepared family trees, contributed to genealogy records compiled by extended-family throughout the country, and was his cousins’ source for family history and anecdotes that would otherwise have been lost forever.

His regular reading of local and national newspapers kept Dave unusually well-informed regarding current events. He had an in-depth knowledge of political issues and could offer biting comments regarding politicians who had been caught engaging in embarrassing or illegal conduct. Dave had a droll sense of humor (at least when speaking with the cousins) and could be counted on to send very funny if sometimes edgy birthday or holiday cards to family members.

Despite his intelligence and education, Dave was something of a “Luddite” when it came to technology. He never had a cell phone, a home computer, a Kindle or a personal email address – relying instead on landlines, pen-and-paper, hardcover books, “snail” mail, and support staff when a generating a computerized document was unavoidable.

After leaving Wall Street law practice, Dave found his true avocation at the Friends of Historic New Utrecht historical society associated with the New Utrecht Reformed Church. As first a member, then an officer, and finally president, Dave combined his love of Brooklyn, his interest in history, and his legal talents in service to the community. Whether working in the historic cemetery, supervising volunteers as they maintained the cemetery, organizing community events, speaking to groups of students on field trips to the cemetery, lecturing on Brooklyn history to other community groups, or generating the many grant applications that kept government funding flowing to the historical society, Dave applied his many talents to make Brooklyn history come alive for today’s students and citizens.

Dave’s death on May 17 was a fitting conclusion to his Brooklyn life well-lived – he collapsed and died in the 300-year-old New Utrecht cemetery while working with local high school volunteers. The way that Dave would have chosen to go.