David Hares, Husband and Father of 2, Worked in the Early Days of Computer Networks, Led the Campaign to Build a Saline Church

David “Dave” Laurence Hares, age 73, of Saline, Michigan, passed from this world to heaven on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, after a 6-month battle with strokes. Dave died under hospice care at the home he shared with his wife, Susan (Sue), and two adult daughters, Ruth Hares and Debbie Hares. David was born in Corning, NY, on May 18, 1952, to George Bigelow Hares and Doris Mabel (Harrison) Hares. He married Susan Kay Erickson on June 20, 1981. Susan and David felt that their 44-year marriage improved every year. One of their joys in retirement was being able to have breakfast, lunch, and dinner together, even during Dave’s last 5-month health battle.

David is survived by his wife Susan, his sister Janice (Jan) Harvey, his brother-in-law Tom Erickson, his sister-in-law Marilyn (Erickson) Tears and her husband Nelson Tears, three nieces (Kristine, Meghan and Katherine) and their spouses, two nephews (David and John) and their spouses, cousins from Hares and Erickson clans, “adopted” (honorary) family members, and a host of friends. The local adopted family members included “Uncle” Keith Shaw, Nancy Hoag, Eileen and Jay Sappington, Mike and Pam Grzech, and Jim and Shirley Karenko. During September, while Dave was in hospice, these “adopted” family members came to sit with Dave.

Dave had three different types of jobs in his career, but his passion was building and tinkering with equipment. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Hope College. His first job was with Corning Medical Instruments, where he worked on the first blood gas analyzer with PDP-8 technology. As part of this job, he designed mechanisms to pressurize the blood storage test tubes in which blood is placed after a blood draw. Dave’s second job was in the earliest computer networks from 1977 to 2002. The networks Dave helped to design and implement enabled US companies to connect with entities as varied as the New York Stock Exchange, international networks (X.75/X.25 and IP), ADP financial branches, and automotive dealerships. One of the strangest private networks Dave helped to develop was the “hoot and holler” network for connecting junk yards. Dave’s third type of job was as an IT professional. He was a master of figuring out what went wrong in a network or email servers. He also volunteered his time as an IT professional at the Saline United Methodist Church from 2002 to 2020.

Dave’s passions were his family, his church, model airplanes and boats, tinkering with tractors, boats, guns, and the “best” tools. Being a good father was a key goal of Dave’s life. He happily spent hours working on school projects with them. As his daughters grew into artists, he saved their paintings, sculptures, and photographs, and he encouraged them to show their work at art shows. One of the happiest days during his 5 months of struggling with strokes was when he attended an art show where Ruth showed her photographs.

Dave led the building campaign for the Saline United Methodist Church, located at 1200 N. Ann Arbor Street, and served as a building trustee for over a decade. Our family spent evenings and weekends at the church during the construction of the church in the 1990s. After the building was complete, he spent his time on sound and lighting for church services until his retirement. He often crawled out on catwalks prior to cantatas presented at the church to create special lighting effects.

Dave was a mechanical genius. His first experiment was taking apart and reassembling the breakfast toaster when he was four. He was hooked from then on. As a teenager, he disassembled a large clock to repair the chimes. When his father came home from work, he saw the clock in pieces on a workbench. He simply said, “That better be back together before this evening.” Dave had the clock put back together and correctly chiming by the evening.

Dave had an amazing ability to forgive and go on when life was disappointing. When a flood in Corning, NY destroyed his childhood home and much of the city, he took a summer job as an electrician's helper working to rebuild the city. He said he was grateful for the flood, which taught him to let go and let God help him get over the bumps in the road of life. When David attended Hope College to pursue a degree in Chemistry, he switched to physics after a professor flunked nearly the entire freshman class. He chose to pursue physics and computers rather than wait another year to retake Chemistry. This choice led him to a career in computer networks and IT. When he encountered obstacles or people who hurt him, Dave learned to forgive, let go of the hurt, and move forward with his life.

Dave and Sue spent a lifetime working and playing together. They met while working at ADP Network Services. Dave introduced Sue to the joys of building and flying model airplanes. After Ruth was born, they climbed the Dunes with Ruth in one backpack and the soaring model airplanes in another backpack. Together, they founded Next Hop Technologies in 2000, a high-tech company. When Sue decided to take two master's degrees (business and divinity) and a doctorate, Dave read every paper she wrote from 2006 to 2014 and edited her dissertation (2014-2021).

Dave was generous with his time, his finances, his expertise, his help to others, and his caring. Monday night was the night to call his sister Jan. During the last weeks of his life, he said to Jan, “When are you coming?” and Jan rearranged her life to come within the week. Marilyn, Dave’s sister-in-law, considered him “her best brother-in-law” because he always showed up – even when he did not have to. After college, when Marilyn didn’t have a table, he built one in one weekend, complete with wood trim. When Marilyn married her co-worker Nelson, David did not tease her, even though she had given David and Sue a hard time about marrying someone they worked with. Marilyn says that a “best brother-in-law” loves your sister with a passion that respects, supports, and puts her first every day. Dave’s love was not a specific moment but a lifetime of quiet but important actions. While Tom lived near Empire in 2023-2024, he found in his brother-in-law, David, a person who cared to listen. David missed Tom greatly while he returned to California.

Many of our friends described him as “a good man” who was always ready to help or lend a listening ear. He gladly helped friends with building projects by bringing tools and spending time teaching them how to build. Jeff Jackson recalls how Dave patiently taught him building techniques. Eileen Sappington recalls how he helped her connect to someone in Siberia via the Internet.

Friends may join the family for a time of visitation on Monday, November 10th from 10:00 A.M. to 11:00 A.M. at the First United Methodist Church of Saline. A Memorial Service will be held at 11:00 A.M. with Rev. Dr. Jim Tuttle as Officiant. Following the service inurnment will be held in the Church Columbarium, and a luncheon will be held at the Church. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Dave’s name may be made to the Saline Methodist Fellowship, P.O. Box 321, Saline, MI 48176. To leave a memory you have of Dave, to sign his online guestbook or for directions please visit www.rbfhsaline.com. Please share with us any pictures or memories you have of Dave on this website.

Sue, Ruth, and Debbie Hares

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