David Stick

David Stick, of Kitty Hawk, NC, passed away on Sunday, May 24, 2009.

Cheryl Shelton-Roberts and Bruce Roberts reflect:

Bruce Roberts and David Stick were friends and business partners since the 1960s. Bruce commented on David. "He was the first historian to get into the history of North Carolina's lighthouses. And his book that was published years ago by Archives & History was the first good source of documented information on all of our lighthouses including the obscure ones in the sounds at at rivers' entrances. For years David collected rare books on Outer Banks' history, and this is part of the Outer Banks History Center's collection in Manteo. In fact, the history center is there because of David. David's father, Frank Stick, is responsible for creating the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Both of them worked so hard to see our beautiful beaches saved for everyone to enjoy. Further, David and I worked together on the first publication on the subject: The Cape Hatteras Seashore. This was before the park was made federal--David and I spent days going up and down the long stretches of shoreline and he filled me with stories about it all. I was hooked. I ended up coming back time and again--always to visit with David who became a close friend and colleague. Years later when my wife, Cheryl, and I co founded the Outer Banks Lighthouse Society, David was our largest supporter; indeed, he was on our first board of directors. Since then we've worked together on several projects, and he always gave generously of his advice and encouragement. I've lost a great friend in David--I don't say this often about a person, but I don't think I could say enough good about him. Every time I look at the ocean, I will think of him. David once wrote, 'I have looked at the sea a thousand times, from the same spot and through the same eyes, and I have seen a thousand different seas.'"

David Stick was preceded in death by his father, Frank Leonard Stick, mother, Maud Hayes Stick, and sister, Charlotte McMullan Stick. He is survived by his three sons, Michael (Debra), Gregory, and Timothy (Kathy); seven grandchildren, Aimee, Renee, Robert, Michael, Josh, Trevor, and Honor; and his dear friend, Louise “Billy” Mishkind.   Mr. Stick was born in New Jersey in 1919, and moved with his family to Roanoke Island, NC in 1929. He graduated from Elizabeth City High School and attended the University of North Carolina, then enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and served as a combat correspondent in the Pacific during WWII. Following the war, he worked in Washington, DC and New York, before moving back to the Outer Banks for good in 1948.   During the next 60 years he involved himself in nearly every aspect of the community. As a businessman, he developed what eventually became the Town of Southern Shores, was part owner of a construction company, and owned and operated a bookstore. He was elected or appointed to numerous governmental bodies, serving on the Dare County Board of Commissioners, North Carolina Commission to Study Library Support, and the North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission, to name just a few. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Outer Banks Community Foundation, and the donation of his library led to the creation of the Outer Banks History Center.   But his real love was research and writing, particularly on the topic of his beloved Outer Banks. He wrote books about the history of the Outer Banks, the history of shipwrecks along the coast, the history of Roanoke Island, Bald Head Island, and the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, and an account of the Ash Wednesday storm of 1962.  During his later years, he liked nothing better than sitting in his living room overlooking Kitty Hawk Bay, telling stories of the old days to a steady stream of visitors. He was fortunate during this time to have a devoted group of friends and neighbors who gave him so much love and attention that, to the end, he called himself “the luckiest man I know.” His family extends their utmost gratitude to these devoted individuals.  A memorial service will be held at the Pavilion at Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills on Monday, June 15, 2009 at 10:30 am, coordinated by the Outer Banks History Center and Twiford Funeral Homes. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that those wishing to express their condolences consider a gift to the Outer Banks History Center, or to the Frank Stick Memorial Fund of the Outer Banks Community Foundation.  (Twiford Funeral Home)

David Stick, an author and pioneer in recording the history of coastal North Carolina, has died at the age of 89.  Stick, who lived in Kitty Hawk and was the first mayor of the town of Southern Shores, died Sunday, according to his son. Stick also was the first licensed real estate broker in Dare County and a co-founder in 1982 of the Outer Banks Community Foundation, a nonprofit that grants money to worthy causes.  His massive collection of northeastern North Carolina maps, charts, books and papers is at the Outer Banks History Center in Manteo.  "As far as the history of the coast of North Carolina, he was really a pioneer," said Kevin Duffus, a historian from Raleigh who knew Stick since the late 1970s. "He preserved the history of the Outer Banks and the Tidewater area of North Carolina long before anyone ever thought that that was an important thing to preserve or to study."  Stick's books include "Graveyard of the Atlantic," "The Ash Wednesday Storm" and "The Outer Banks of North Carolina."  He lived on and was fascinated by the Outer Banks since he was a boy.  He was born in New Jersey in 1919, the son of an artist and illustrator named Frank Stick. His father began taking family trips to the Outer Banks in the early 1920s, buying property.  The family moved to Roanoke Island in 1929, and as a teenager Stick wrote a column for the Elizabeth City Independent.  He enrolled at the University of North Carolina but, as he would later say, "flunked out."  He later helped write the Coastal Area Management Act legislation, which governed conservation and coastal development in North Carolina.  In a 2003 interview with The Virginian-Pilot, Stick talked about his love of researching.  "People don't understand what pleasure it gives you to do something like that," he said. "Frequently, I'll be here writing, and I'll think how wonderful it is, at this moment, somebody is going through notes that I've done. I get such pleasure that every day, somebody gets something out of something I've done."  A portrait of Stick was hung at the history center in 2003.  "David touched the coast in ways that people won't ever really understand or appreciate," Duffus said. "He was one of the people instrumental in the Coastal Resources Commission and many of the conservation laws that protect the coast today."  One story Stick liked to tell, Duffus said, was how Amelia Earhart wrapped him in her arms on Dec. 17, 1928, for a ride along sand paths in a pickup to the 25th anniversary commemoration of the first flight by the Wright brothers. Stick, then 8 years old, met Orville Wright at the event.  "That's where David's passing is a great loss, because he could tell us about those times in the early years," Duffus said. "David was a historian that was dedicated to the truth and finding the truth of history."  Funeral arrangements were not immediately available.  (The Virginian-Pilot [Norfolk, Va.] - Monday, May 25, 2009)

KITTY HAWK - A man known for his writings about, and his love for, North Carolina's Outer Banks has died.  Michael Stick of Chicago said Tuesday that his father, David Stick of Kitty Hawk, died of natural causes Sunday at Albemarle Hospital in Elizabeth City. He was 89.  Stick's books include "Graveyard of the Atlantic," "The Ash Wednesday Storm" and "The Outer Banks of North Carolina."  The family will hold a memorial service in early June on the Outer Banks. Survivors include two other sons and seven grandchildren.