David Lee Maulsby

David Lee Maulsby Jr. died at home on April 7, 2024.  He was born on June 19, 1941 in Baltimore, Maryland to Harriett Mason Smith Maulsby of Middleburg, Virginia and David Lee Maulsby of S. of Charlottesville, Virginia. 

David grew up in Bolton Hill attending the Gilman School in Baltimore and Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia, graduating from St. Paul’s School for Boys in Brooklandville, Maryland in 1961. In his youth he spent many hours fishing along the Delaware coast while at “Toad Hall” in Bethany Beach, delighted friends with witty pen and ink drawings, and enjoyed duck hunting with his father and family friends on the Eastern Shore; all pursuits he carried into his adult life.  

David left Baltimore to study English at Yale University, graduating in 1965, and from there went to Cornell University to study law, graduating with a JD in 1968.  At Cornell University he met Sara (Sally) Ann Hadeler, and they were married on February 7, 1970 in Sally’s hometown of Dayton, Ohio.  After marrying, they resided in Bolton Hill in David’s family home and David began his career at what was then Charles Center Inner Harbor Management and later City of Baltimore Development Corporation.  David was an active member of Memorial Episcopal Church in Bolton Hill, an original member of Bolton Swim and Tennis, and enjoyed strong friendships, especially those with childhood friends, many of whom had ties to Bolton Hill and his family.  David took delight in a variety of apparently disparate pursuits that ranged from gardening (especially tomatoes and then zinnias and later still daffodils), to historical linguistics (resulting in a library of books on obscure and sometimes hilarious topics), to pocketknife collecting (which dismayed his wife and would entrance grandchildren).  He supported his daughters unequivocally:  cheering from the sidelines, applauding from the audience, and visiting them as they chased various pursuits.  

Baltimore, its places, and its colorful characters, continued to serve as the backdrop for the rhythm of David’s life after retirement.  Travel was guided first by the places where his daughters and extended family lived and took David and Sally on several occasions to Italy, England, and Texas.  Other travel included a fishing trip in Alaska and a fondly remembered boat trip in Greece.  Deer hunting in Harford County, time at Bethany Beach, dogs (Willa, the last in a long line that included Mr. Mac, Mabs, Simmy, and Winnie) and gatherings comprised of children and grandchildren brought particular joy.  

Sally and David moved to Lincoln, Massachusetts in 2021, placing David in intimate contact with the peculiarities of life in New England.  In Lincoln he forged new friendships and rekindled old ones, enjoyed time with family, and took continued delight in weaving tall tales, especially ones with a thread of truth just strong enough that it obscured the line between fact and fiction and left his audience amused and uncertain.  David will be remembered by his family for his warm generosity, appreciation of food, sage advice, critical eye, linguistic dexterity, capacious intellect, and jovial sense of humor.   

David is survived by his wife, Sally; their daughter Lucy Mason Maulsby and her husband John T. Mendelson and their children William Saunders Maulsby Mendelson and Tasker Lee Maulsby Mendelson of Lincoln; and their daughter Catherine Hadeler Maulsby and her husband Thor A. Nelson and their children Charlotte Nelson Maulsby and Anna Nelson Maulsby of Silver Spring, Maryland.

Services will be private.

Donations may be made to World Central Kitchen (wck.org).