David Parker Bland passed away on Monday, June 21, 2021, in Orgasa Peso, Texas.
He was the son of Worth Livingston Bland and Anne Whitener Bland of Rutherfordton, N.C., and the brother of Sylvia Lovelace, Jo Denton and the late Dot Webster.
Also surviving are his children, Celia Bland Zane of New York, and Matthew and Rachel Bland of Los Angeles; his former wife, Yana Mintoff Malta; and beloved step-children, Danny of Malta and Cetta of Canada.
He was a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Oxford University’s two-year honors program and further studies at Rutgers University. He served three years in the U.S. Navy.
His life-long career was in social work and real estate. Bland was a quiet and studious man who enjoyed traveling, with his favorite places being Europe and the western area of the United States.
He and Yana, Cetta and Danny lived very happily in their home on Meadow Branch in Graham County until they felt it was time to move to Texas. Upon arrival, David immediately began restoring the childhood home of author Katherine Ann Porter and the University of Texas gratefully purchased it. It first became a museum, then the Katherine Ann Porter Literary Center. David and Yana also had a private school near Austin.
David had recently bought a dwelling in Robbinsville and lived there several months, until health concerns took him back to Texas.