David Churchill Hart, of Evanston, Illinois, passed away on May 14, 2026, at the age of 86.

David lived a life marked by intellectual curiosity, thoughtfulness, and a deep engagement with the arts. He possessed an acute sense of humor, a gift for literary reference, and a lifelong commitment to learning. Above all, he was a good person, wonderful husband, father, grandfather, and friend who was both loving and deeply loved.

David graduated from Northwestern University in 1962 and earned his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1965. Following law school, he served as a radio operator in the United States Army and served in the Illinois National Guard during the chaos of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

David had a distinguished legal career culminating as Vice President and General Counsel of R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company. Following his retirement from R.R. Donnelley, David continued his civic involvement as Acting Chair of the Chicago Architecture Foundation, and on various boards including the Next Theater Company, Hubbard Street Dance Company and the Evanston Art Center.

A lifelong lover of literature and music, David's retirement opened the door to new intellectual and artistic pursuits. He became an active participant and study group facilitator at Northwestern University's Institute for Learning in Retirement, now the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. As coordinator of Poetry for Pleasure and previously of Shakespeare study groups, he inspired fellow learners through his passion for language and poetry. David was further an accomplished poet himself. His work appeared in the Southwest Review, Poetry Magazine, and the ILR Journal.

David's appreciation for music led him to an unexpected and rewarding chapter when he attended a performance by Craig Trompeter. Captivated by the performance and intrigued by the Viola de Gamba, David remarked to his wife, "It has frets—I think I can learn to play that." And he did exactly that. David spent many joyful years playing bass viol with fellow musicians and cultivating lasting friendships through the early music community.

David and his wife Beth explored cultures and landscapes around the world, hiking in the Andes, traversing the volcanic highlands of coastal Italy, and visiting the Temple of the Gods on the Sea of Japan. Travels with their children and grandchildren often took them abroad and to the treasured national parks of the United States, where they shared adventures with those they loved most.

David is survived by his wife of more than sixty-two years, Beth Rubinstein Hart, his daughters, Melissa Beth Hart and Katherine Dana Hart, his son-in-law Richard Kean, and his cherished grandchildren, Louise Hart Bodt, David Woolf Bodt, Joseph Ira Kean, and Nathan Hart Kean.