David Webster Hathorne

February 18, 1964 – August 4, 2024

David Webster Hathorne, 60, died August 4, 2024, at his home in Portland, Oregon. He was born on February 18, 1964, in Biloxi, Mississippi, the youngest of five children of Richard “Dick” Hathorne and Rena Virginia (Huscher) Hathorne. He was the grandson of Henry and Grace (Marden) Hathorn, Quincy, Massachusetts, and Jesse and Mildred (Henderson) Huscher, Concordia, Kansas.

David spent his childhood years in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, Raytown, Missouri, Concordia, Kansas, and Shawnee, Kansas, where he attended Shawnee Mission Northwest High School. David lived with his sister, Nancy for a year in NYC, deciding to relocate to live with his sister, Husch Hathorne in Portland, Oregon. There he completed his high school diploma, graduating from the Metropolitan Learning Center on May 31, 1983. David attended Portland Community College where he took classes in economics, political science, and history.

David was a deeply sentimental man, and he enjoyed a routine of driving to his favorite scenic destinations where he liked to watch a lightning storm or play a little harp at sunset. He had throughout his life a love of social justice, truth and beauty. He was greatly influenced by his close relationship with his mother, Virginia Hathorne, from whom he gained his values of acceptance of others and the practice of independent thought and action. He loved his sisters, Regina, Gayle and Nancy, who inspired and supported him in developing his talent and ambitions in music and in life; his brother, Rich and sister, Grace, whom he deeply admired, his nephew, John whom he was very close to. He loved his friend for over four decades, artist Luna Lee Ray, and his sister, Husch Hathorne-Cantil, who was honored to be able to live near him for most of his last 40 years in Portland, Oregon.

David’s easy outgoing demeanor earned him many cherished friendships: Tim Hauth and Charles Sisschel, his dear friends from his Portland high school who both passed away in their late 30s; Rick Gainer, who he knew in both Kansas City as a boy and in Portland as an adult; Mike Cox, who noted Dave was like a brother; and Brad and Jewel Stockli, who offered him unlimited support and friendship. Happily, they attended his 60th birthday

celebration at Jake’s Grill in downtown Portland last February, along with his niece, Blossom Cassidy, and her partner, Joe Lamberson, and his sister, Husch Hathorne-Cantil.

David was an outstanding professional cook whose creativity found resounding

appreciation from his customers and family. He had success as a sous chef in fine dining once his Chef bosses realized his potential and trained him to plate and make wonderful sauces.

David’s creativity in cooking and his exquisite culinary taste found a home at Multnomah

Athletic Club and Esplanade at the Riverplace Hotel, and Cassidy’s in Portland, Oregon, 1996-1999. While living in Concordia, David was employed at Kelher House as the restaurant’s Chef and was highly sought nightly by residents from as far as 2 counties away once word of his fine dining skills spread. His culinary creations were said by one co-worker to be “the highlight of the community for the years he was there.” Indeed, many former patrons inquired whether “Dave would ever return” to Kansas to make it possible for them to enjoy again his excellent cuisine.

When his health demanded a slower pace upon return to Portland, Oregon, he worked as the Kitchen Manager at The Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center from 2000 – 2011. Additionally, he worked at CODA in Portland, among other facilities.

During Covid-19 David braved the front lines as an essential worker at the Multnomah University Pioneer College Caterers, where he worked until 2022. David was modest about his success in the culinary world, although he earned numerous commendations for excellence over the years.

From the age of 16, David honed his talent for playing blues harp in the tradition of the Mississippi Delta school of blues. His love for the blues spurred him on to become a self-taught master blues harpist influenced by John Lee Hooker, Howling Wolf, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Robert Johnson, and others. David created many original recordings: “Big Bank Woman”, “I Got Holes in the Fabric of My Time”, “Down the Road and Around the Track”, “Standing Round Crying”, and “Grinnin’ in Your Face,” to list only a few. He recorded his own arrangements of “Sugar Mama” and “Ground Hog Blues” by John Lee Hooker, “When the Levee Breaks” by Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy, and more, both singing the vocals and playing a mean harp.

David was given several lessons with master blues harp musician, Paul Delay in Portland, Oregon. Widely considered to be the best blues musician in town, Delay’s instruction deeply impacted David’s musicianship and technique. David enjoyed playing with other musicians. He jammed at the Chicago Blues Festival in the late 1990s, making annual pilgrimages to the festival over the years he lived in Kansas as an adult. David never missed the annual Blues Festival on Waterfront Park in Portland every Fourth of July.

David was a dedicated fan of Neil Young and was able to see him in concert on multiple occasions throughout Young’s long career. One of David’s hobbies was collecting T-shirts

from the numerous classic rock concerts he attended, building an impressive collection that included James Brown, Muddy Waters, Led Zeppelin, Black Crowes, Rage Against the Machine, Nirvana, the Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, and many others.

David’s musicianship was the great love of his life, and he devoted all of himself to it when he retired and was finally able to commit his time to creating, playing and composing.

At the time of his death, David was busy recording, scoring and writing original compositions for blues harp. He was also performing regularly at the Trap Lounge where his fans are now bereft of the beauty of David’s complex depths and unique voice.

David was preceded in death by his parents, and his sister, Regina Hathorne Billingsley. He is survived by his sisters, Gayle G. Hathorne, Overland Park, KS; Husch Hathorne-Cantil (Joseph), Anchorage, AK; Nancy Hathorne (Alan Bradley), Jersey City, NJ; and Grace Hathorne Billiot, Long Beach, MS; his brother, Rich Hathorne (Jo), Shawnee, KS; his nieces and nephews: Blossom Cassidy (Joseph Lamberson), Jersey City, NJ; John Hathorne-Brown, Boulder, CO; Amanda Solsburg (Nick) and children, Olathe, KS; JingJing Hathorne Cantil, Brooklyn, NY; Angela Stiens (Shannon) and children, Shawnee, KS and Dallas, TX; Kellie Hathorne Hardy and children, Kansas City, MO; TJ Hathorne (Kasey) and children, KCMO; Jennifer (Chris) Potter and children, Olathe, KS; Aaron Billiot, Jeremiah Billiot, Long Beach, Mississippi, and John Billiot, MT.

David is deeply mourned by his friends and family. Please join us in grieving his loss.

Omega Funeral and Cremation Services, Portland, Oregon, provided care for cremation, and is hosting the memorial celebration of life service on July 13, 2025, at 1 pm PDT onsite and remote. In late fall 2025, David’s ashes are to be interred in the family plot at Nelson Cemetery, Concordia, Kansas, and scattered at significant locations. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, David’s life be memorialized by sharing a story about him at the Zoom memorial in July, or by visiting his gravesite in Nelson Cemetery outside Concordia, Kansas, where his gravestone has been lovingly placed. www.Omegaservices.com