David Minkus died at the age of 80 on Jan. 25, 2024. He passed away peacefully in Los Angeles with his sons Michael and Joshua by his side.
He was a sociologist by profession and worked at the Institute for the Study of Societal Issues at UC Berkeley for over 40 years. During this time he mentored innumerable graduate students, impacting generations of scholars.
His passion was for people and their endeavors, the things they did and said, and above all the foods they ate. Food was ever fascinating to him, triangulating his interests in people, markets and pleasure. And it provided the perfect cover for a trip to a restaurant or street market — he was always in the field “collecting research.”
David was high spirited, with a rare imagination especially apparent in his singular way with words. His metaphors were not so much mixed as whisked, spinning out esoteric connections between the many subjects that compelled him, which could seem like every subject.
David was born in Los Angeles on Jan. 8, 1944, to Abraham Minkus and Libbie Minkus (Nathan). As a boy he was an avid coin collector, spending afternoons sorting through piles of pennies for rare coins still in circulation, and establishing his lifelong passion for the bargain.
His parents were both active in the Communist Party, and were blacklisted after Abraham was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee. David recalled regularly being trailed home from school by men in suits asking for his father. Such experiences instilled in David an enduring skepticism of state power and advocacy for those wronged by it.
In 1965 David graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Sociology. He continued with graduate and doctoral studies at Berkeley, completing his dissertation on public policy debates related to transportation in urban areas. He later served as consultant to the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) Board, pressing for an expansion of service to underserved communities and higher bridge tolls for commuters. David’s dissertation guided his policy work, advocating for a more equitable and robust public transit system.
David split his time between Berkeley and the town of Elk, California, in Mendocino County.
He met his future wife Judy (Harrel) who was then living on the nearby Rainbow Commune in Philo, California. After a stint teaching together at the Clearwater School, where David served as Judy’s teaching aide, and cohabitating in a converted chicken coop, they built their home among the redwoods and tan oak on Greenwood Ridge. In 1975 they were married in a small ceremony at the house, and it was there that they raised their two sons Michael and Joshua.
David is survived by his sons Michael (Elba Garcia) and Joshua (Mary Helena Clark), nephews Reuben Lombardo (Shonda O’Neal) and Marc Lombardo, and grandson Adan Minkus Garcia. He is preceded in death by his wife, Judy Minkus; sister Barbara Lombardo; and parents Abraham and Libbie Minkus.
A memorial will be held in the Bay Area on April 20, 2024, organized by the Institute for the Study of Societal Issues. Further details will be posted here when available.
In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Greenwood Civic Club (mail checks to Greenwood Civic Club, PO Box 282, Elk, CA 95432) or the Graduate Fellows Program of the Institute for the Study of Societal Issues at the University of California, Berkeley.
