David Ewald died of cancer at home in Greenwich, Conn., April 19, 2007.

Graduating from Tenafly (N.J.) High School in 1944, he joined the Navy V-5 aviation program, including Princeton as World War II ended. A member of Charter Club, he played 150-pound football and graduated in 1947. He entered the Alcoa Inc. training program, but marketing and sales were his calling. Dave then chose a publishing career, specializing in the aviation business.

Chiefly heading Business & Commercial Aviation, which he helped create, he spent 50 years as a publisher and industry spokesperson. After retiring in 1990, he co-founded Specialized Publications Co., a national advertising sales firm specializing in niche magazines, including Flight Training, Dive Training, and Restaurant Startup & Growth.

He loved family and friends, enjoying them at his ski house in Killington, Vt., and at the New Jersey seashore. His stature was in evidence by the 250 people attending his May 4, 2007, memorial service at Westchester Airport in a jet-aircraft hangar. A 20-page program extolled Dave’s life, with 75 tributes by friends in aviation.

He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Virginia Dannehower; three sons, Daniel of Mendon, Vt., Brian of Salem, Conn., and Spencer of Madison, Conn.; a daughter, Corinne Dunster of Reading, Mass.; and eight grandchildren.

Undergraduate Class of 1948