October 13, 1939 �" May 15, 2012
David Dean Delay, 72, died in his home in Hallendale, Florida, on Tuesday, May 15, 2012.
David was born in Highland, Illinois, on October 13, 1939. After a stint in the U.S. Navy, he attended Southern Illinois University and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1967. In 1968 he moved to San Francisco, where he lived and was active in the gay community for many years. In the 1970s along with Ken Ferguson and Kerry Bowman he founded the legendary Ambush bar on Folsom Street.
He will be remembered by many for his leather work, first in the leather shop at the Ambush and later in his own shop on Market Street.
He made many trips to Europe and lived there for three years. In 2005 David moved to Hallendale, Florida.
David was a lover of the arts. He read deeply in German literature and was especially versed in the work of Gunter Grass.
He amassed a large collection of works by gay San Francisco painters (including Chuck Arnett, Snowflake, and Bill McNeill), most of whom were shown in the series of exhibitions that David initiated at the Ambush in the 1980s.
David is survived by one sister and two nieces.