Jones Davis Pollard (Dave)

Dave Pollard of Durham, NC passed away peacefully with his family by his side at Duke Hospital after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. Dave was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, friend, and sportsman. His energy, kind heart, fun personality, and his love for his family will forever be remembered.

Dave was born August 12, 1942, to Julia Davis and Forrest Pollard. He attended Calvert School, Durham High School graduating in 1961, and went to Columbia Prep School in Washington, DC in 1962. He attended Atlantic Christian College, and served in the United States Army reserves from 1964-1970, where he enjoyed being a drill sergeant.

Early on, he was employed at Atlas Supply Company, and thereafter at North Carolina National Bank - first in Greensboro, and then in Durham. Following work in the mortgage collections division, he moved to bank operations and became manager at the Northgate branch in Durham. Real estate and investments were his work focus there after.

Wildlife preservation was Dave’s lifetime cause. He founded the original Durham chapter of the Ducks Unlimited (DU) organization in 1970 and served as the first DU “area chairman” for Durham County. Recruiting many others to serve, Dave’s leadership and avid support of DU continued throughout his lifetime.

Dave was a passionate waterfowl decoy collector. He routinely attended all the major wildlife festivals along the east coast, from Easton MD to Charleston SC. Both East Carolina Wildlife Festival and the Core Sound Decoy Festival were honored to invite Dave to judge their decoy competitions. Dave's admiration for waterfowl was obvious from the field to the gallery. All those that had the pleasure of sharing a morning sunrise and the wings of dawn with Dave will all say, he will be missed.

Dave loved to play golf, travel, spend time at Hyco Lake with his family, and he attended many horse shows supporting his daughters over the years. He was a member of Watts Street Baptist Church in Durham throughout his life, and served as a Friendly City Kiwanis Club President. Dave was proud to be a Diamond Life Sponsor of the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF). He was an avid fan of Wake Forest University and often spoke about his “Demon Deacs”. More than anything, Dave loved to dance, whistle, make others laugh or feel special, and just have fun. His generous heart was never ending, nor was his love for his family.

Survivors include his loving wife of 51 years, Rhonda, his daughters, Julia Rice (Tim) and Joy Halsey (Tom), his brother Larry (Brenda), and his grandchildren - Madison and Nathan Halsey and Hunter Rice. Dave was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Al Pollard.