David Barnard Tallmadge

1943 - 2025 Obituary for David Tallmadge; David Barnard Tallmadge passed away on September 30, 2025, just one week after celebrating his 82nd birthday, from natural causes. He leaves behind two of his three children, Ash and Benjamin, as well as many hearts he touched along the way. His eldest son, Michael, passed in 2014, and has already been interred at his final resting place not far from where his father David was born, in Canton, Connecticut, as well as on a remote mountain in New Mexico. After a childhood in the Northeast, our father David made his home in many places over his colorful eight decades of life — including Europe, New England, the Rocky Mountain West, and finally the desert Southwest. He spent his later years surrounded by the dramatic landscapes near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. David was a veteran of the United States Armed Forces, having served in both the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force, playing troops into a place of solidarity with his oboe and saxophone. He received honorable discharges from both, and carried this experience throughout his life, with all the nuances many veterans experience. After returning to civilian life, he pursued many paths. After earning a Bachelor of Science from the University of Wyoming, he started and ran his own business, worked as a painter, and eventually found a deep calling in bodywork — developing his own practice in Jin Shin Do and massage therapy in New Mexico, his heart place. David was a lifelong seeker, fascinated by the nature of reality — both interpersonal and metaphysical. Drawn to solitude and to the natural world, he felt most at home among desert canyons and open skies. His life was the epitome of marching to his own drumbeat. A compelling personality, he drew people from all walks of life and will be remembered by many as an enigmatic nomad. He made many friends in pursuit of gemstones in the Earth and in life. His children, and those in his sphere, learned to experience life through his eyes, gentle and curious, and it helped frame our collective worldviews. He was often seen in his signature outfit — t-shirt, shorts, tennis shoes, and a ball cap — with a twinkle in his eye and a crystal in his pocket, a ready gift for any stranger he happened to meet that day. He loved to share meals; green chile burgers, chicken fried steak, enchiladas, fresh corn, berries on yogurt. He collected thousands of pounds of crystals and other desert treasures, always trying to share a little of the peace he found in the search for beauty with others. David’s remains have been cremated and will be spread in accordance with his final wishes by his children. There will be no formal funeral or ceremony; in his spirit, those who knew him are encouraged to celebrate his memory in their own way. In memory of David, we send our blessings to his spirit to become a part of the Earth he loved so deeply, and to ascend to the peaceful light of the realms of mystery in whose arms we know we will feel comfort and peace. Please sign David’s online tribute at www.romerofuneralhomenm.com Romero Funeral Home, 609 N. Main St., Belen, NM.

David Barnard Tallmadge

September 24, 1943 - September 30, 2025