David C. Mcgrew

David C. McGrew, DVM, age 76 of Oxford, died on Friday, June 23, 2023. David was born in Medina, Ohio on December 13, 1946 to Chester N. McGrew and Elizabeth B. (Bay) McGrew.

David loved so much about life. Many would say he didn’t get enough of it, that he didn’t get to retire in good health, that he won’t travel to the next country, or won’t see his grandsons grow up. But in fact, he always understood how lucky he was to be raised with sisters Jan and Margaret in a loving, generous family, and then to fulfill his early dreams of becoming a veterinarian, building his own family, having great friends, and continuing to sing whenever and wherever possible. Making a home in Oxford, Ohio, and traveling far and wide was icing on an already multi-layered cake.

Dave lived with Parkinson’s Disease for his last twenty years, and Lewy Body Dementia became his primary challenge over time. His veterinary care of all creatures great and small was cut short, but he cherished over three decades full of great relationships with a huge variety of animals and their caring owners. In addition to his private practice, Dave served as the lab animal veterinarian at Miami University and a veterinarian for the raptor rehabilitation center at Hueston Woods State Park.

Dave proposed to his wife Kathy on a snowy Christmas Eve in 1972 in Fair Haven, Vermont, where he first practiced. The proposal was interrupted by a call to a dairy farm where one hundred cows were suffering from terrible diarrhea. Kathy said yes to the life of a veterinarian’s wife as she donned heavy coveralls and oversized rubber boots to travel with him across the Vermont hills, then handed over instruments while breathing through her mouth in a cavernous barn full of moaning cows until Christmas Day arrived. Thus began a love that would last a lifetime.

Dave set up his own veterinary practice in Oxford, Ohio, in 1974. There, he and Kathy raised their three children: Suzanne (or Zan), Kate, and John. Dave (and occasionally Kathy) enjoyed being on stage with their children in musical theater productions with Oxford Area Community Theater. Sharing this experience with the kids was one of the biggest joys in Dave’s life. He also loved coaching John’s soccer and ice hockey teams and teaching the kids to ski in Colorado. He simply loved being the dad to his three children, and ultimately “GDad” to grandsons Donovan and River, and father-in-law to Jonathan McQuade and Sarah McGrew.

Life in Oxford meant years of interesting and dear friends. Dave was active in Rotary. He took his turn as president and embraced the friendships of fellow Rotarians. He made great friends as a goalie in what he called the Huff-and-Puff ice hockey team of older players. Dave, Kathy, and the kids were so lucky to have had a string of weekly potlucks with friends: an “after-hockey” potluck, a neighborhood potluck, and finally the beloved “Potluckers,” a group of precious friends who have nourished and sustained each other through good times and bad with weekly Wednesday potlucks since 1995, interrupted only by the COVID-19 pandemic.

From his participation in the Mansfield, Ohio, Kleinesingers boy choir, through singing with The Ohio State University choirs, the Cincinnati May Festival Chorus, and the Oxford Choral Ensemble, to a small group of singers called Midcentury Modern, choral singing was a major part of Dave’s life. In fact, he and Kathy met in a church choir, and they sang together in many groups for many years. Aside from every moment with the Oxford Choral Ensemble, a highlight was singing in Carnegie Hall with the May Festival Chorus and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. A well-kept secret is that Dave was also an accomplished pianist and organist (and a less accomplished tuba player).

There was abundant joy in his 76 years. Family, friends, and music were important to Dave until the end because all were sources of love given and love received. In a “just-in-case-I-can’t-say-it-later” letter he wrote to the kids 40 years ago, he said, "I see love as the prime mover and shaker of good so you must constantly realize the new ways that love can guide you. It will teach you sensitivity, respect, faith, constancy, strength, pliancy, and character. Love is intangible, it is within you, and it's yours alone in whatever shape you build it. It will always be ready to be molded again, to be given to others, and to remain steadfast. Remember it is your most precious possession. Give it wisely and with concern for its welfare." He also wrote, “You never need to be ‘more important than….,’ but you always need to remember the “importance of….’”

The last several years especially have seen a manifestation of “the importance of.” Dave received extraordinary care and support from family and friends; recently the Oxford Community Adult Day Service; and lately, The Knolls of Oxford and Hospice of Cincinnati.

He is survived by his two wonderful sisters, Jan (Jon) Smith, of Loudon, TN, and Margaret Martin, of Lucas, Ohio; the extended Howard T. and Mary Bay family; the extended John and Phyllis Blocher family;  two long, loyal and loving professional veterinary staff, Cindy Watson and Carrie Setser; his wife Kathryn Blocher McGrew; children Zan McQuade (Jonathan) of Cincinnati, OH, Kate McGrew of Dublin, Ireland, John and Sarah (Delp) McGrew, of Los Angeles; grandsons Donovan and River McGrew; life-enriching siblings-in-law; and beloved nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his loved and loving parents.

A memorial service and celebration will be held on Saturday, August 12, 2023 at 1:00 PM at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 25 East Walnut St, Oxford, OH 45056. Cremation will follow brain donation to the Brain Donor Project (braindonorproject.org). Gifts in Dave’s memory may be made to The Knolls of Oxford Future Care Fund, 6727 Contreras Rd., Oxford, OH 45056; the Oxford Community Adult Day Service (c/o Oxford Senior Citizens), 922 Tollgate Rd, Oxford, OH 45056; Hospice of Cincinnati, hospiceofcincinnati/donate; the Three Valley Conservation Trust (https://www.3vct.org/donate#Monetarydonations); or to a friend, family, or community in need, be it local or global. The family is being assisted by Brown Dawson Flick Funeral Home.