David Assaf, III's Obituary
Taken too soon from family and friends, David Assaf, III departed this world on January 18, 2026.
He was born on April 12, 1945 in New Orleans, Louisiana, second of three children of David Assaf, Jr. and Edith McElroy. At St. Aloysius High School in New Orleans, David devoted four years to the science club, serving as its president, and also served as president of Key Club and founder of the meteorology club. In 1963, the school newspaper noted that David had his “own home workshop in which he performs experiments in the phases of science.” Indeed, it was during high school that he began a lifelong hobby as an electronics tinkerer and amateur radio operator, aka a “ham”.
For the rest of his life, David would continue to keep a workshop (affectionately called “the shack”) in every place he called home, chock full of radios and electronics in various phases of repair, especially his favorite Drake brand transmitters and receivers. With his radios, his trusted Morse code keyer, a thousand watts, and a modified Yagi antenna of his own design, he would bounce radio waves off the ionosphere to communicate with other hams on the other side of the planet, a practice known as “DX” in ham parlance. During Hurricane Betsy in 1965, he provided emergency communication via his amateur radio station, a service for which he was recognized by the city of New Orleans.
David met his future wife Paula Kreilkamp on a blind date at Loyola University, where they were both students. They were engaged for a year and a half while David was drafted and served in the Air Force and Air National Guard repairing aircraft radios at Belle Chase AFB, and while Paula volunteered with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps on the Colville Reservation in Omak, Washington. They were married at St. Dominic Catholic Church in New Orleans on July 12, 1969. On their honeymoon, they watched the Apollo 11 moon landing broadcast.
The young couple settled in Baton Rouge where David studied at LSU for a Masters in Electrical Engineering and worked two jobs: days as a graduate teaching assistant, and nights at the local TV station WAFB. In 1971 they were blessed with their first child, David IV. Over the next two decades, they welcomed Bernard, Megan, William, and Rachel.
David began working with William J. LeBlanc in 1973 and was made a partner in March 1979 to form LeBlanc & Assaf Consulting Engineers, later AST. As a stamped electrical and mechanical engineer, David led the award-winning design for lighting and cooling the Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge, for which he was recognized by the Louisiana Congress. At his retirement, he said to lawmakers thinking about changing the electrical, lighting, and cooling systems, “Don’t mess up my building.” David also worked on electrical and/or mechanical systems at LSU’s old Alex Box stadium, LSU’s Tiger Stadium, St. Thomas More Church, St. Joseph Cathedral and other churches, the Old State Capitol building, and numerous other buildings at LSU, Southern University, and his alma mater Loyola University.
David was active in the Baton Rouge Amateur Radio Club and other ham clubs in south Louisiana. In his retirement, he took his hobby to new heights by participating in DXpeditions to exotic places and remote, uninhabited spots like Mellish Reef in the Coral Sea. These meticulously planned trips involved the construction and operation of temporary amateur radio stations for contacting thousands of hams all over the world via Morse code. The more isolated and inhospitable the place, the more sought after the DX! His most memorable trip was to the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, where at the age of 71, he helped set up and operate a radio station on Thule Island, the southernmost beach outside Antarctica and one of the most unforgiving places on Earth, where the only permanent inhabitants are some rather curious penguins.
David was preceded in death by his parents, David Assaf, Jr. and Edith McElroy Assaf, his sister Ednamary Caserta, and his beloved wife of 56 years, Paula Kreilkamp Assaf. He leaves behind his brother Dennis Assaf; his children David Assaf, IV (Sydney), Bernard Assaf (Stacy), Megan Assaf (Joe), William Assaf (Christine), and Rachel Aylsworth (Jason); and eight grandchildren: Simon, Timothy, Kirby, Nathan, Elizabeth, Noah, Lauren, and Julian.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to St. Joseph Abbey (https://www.saintjosephabbey.com/donate) and Jefferson Performing Arts Society (https://www.jpas.org/donate).
Funeral to be held at Mary Queen of Peace church in Mandeville, LA on January 31, 2026: 10 AM visitation, 11:30 AM remembrances, 12 PM funeral Mass. To be followed by inurnment at St. Joseph’s Abbey Cemetery in Covington at the St. Anselm cremation niches.
E.J. Fielding Funeral Home has been entrusted with funeral arrangements. Please sign the guestbook at https://www.ejfieldingfh.com.
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