David Bahnson Obituary

Obituary published on Legacy.com by Clifford Funeral Home & Cremation Service - Rutland on Aug. 8, 2025.

Dr. David H. Bahnson, beloved husband, father and grandfather, passed away peacefully on
August 5, 2025. He was 78 years old. Dave was born in Baltimore, Maryland to Henry and Louise Bahnson, and later moved to
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Middlebury College and then the University of
Pittsburgh Medical School, after which he began his training as an orthopedic surgeon. After a
fellowship in Atlanta, Georgia, he returned to Pittsburgh where he pursued his orthopaedic
practice, served as the team physician for the Pittsburgh Penguins, and raised his young family
for several years before settling in Vermont in 1984. In Vermont, Dave pursued his passion for orthopaedic surgery and excelled in particular in his
work with pediatric patients, where his steady presence and sense of humor served him well.
He spent more than twenty-five years as a surgeon at Vermont Orthopaedic Clinic. While his
professional accomplishments brought him great joy and satisfaction, he was happiest when
piloting an airplane, a passion he pursued for over fifty years. He spent a great amount of time
in his Cessna 206, including piloting it cross-country to Alaska on two trips with his wife Linda.
He built a two-seater Piper Cub from the frame up, and enjoyed scenic flights over the Vermont
landscape. For many years he flew a float plane, touching down and taking off from local lakes.
In retirement, he taught at the Vermont Flight Academy and spent many summer days at the
glider port in Sugarbush, where he delighted in serving as a tow glider pilot and the opportunity
it presented to take-off and land dozens of times a day. Shortly before his death, he was
awarded the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award, the Federal Aviation Association's most
prestigious award for pilots, to recognize fifty years of exemplary aviation flight experience,
distinguished professionalism, and steadfast commitment to aviation safety. When Dave wasn't flying he was often in his workshop, where he constructed beautiful
hand-made wooden furniture and used his MacGyver-esque skills to solve all manner of
mechanical problems, from a toad ramp constructed with his grandchildren to rescue
amphibians from the pool to an innovative table modification for which he recently received a
patent. He built kayaks and customized one to accommodate two of his golden retrievers as
passengers, a feat that earned him internet fame. From a young age he had been drawn to
explosions and he put this passion to practical use in adulthood when he built multiple cannons
from scratch, delighting in the design and manufacture but most especially in the explosions. Dave is survived by his wife Linda, with whom he enjoyed over two decades of cross-country
and international adventures; his children: Jennifer Bahnson and her husband Christopher
Nasveschuk, and Gregg Bahnson; his sister Barbara; and his two grandchildren of whom he
was fiercely proud: Arden and Phoebe. A celebration of Dave's life will be held at a later date, and it will undoubtedly involve one of his
cannons. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that any remembrances in Dave's honor be
made to the Glioblastoma Foundation. Arrangements are under the direction of Clifford Funeral Home

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