David Alan Kornblum

KORNBLUM: David Alan Kornblum died on March 30, 2026, with his sister by his side. He was born on June 19, 1956, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to Sylvan Kornblum and the late Elizabeth (Falkenberg) Kornblum, who preceded him in death in 1965. David was a talented musician and ceramicist, with a bachelor’s degree in studio art from Kalamazoo College. He lived briefly in Kalamazoo, Washington D.C., and California, but spent most of his life in Lansing, Michigan, where he worked for many years as a luthier for Elderly Instruments. David’s mental health was precarious, and for decades he struggled to maintain his equilibrium. In 2023, David was diagnosed with cancer, leading to a cascade of related conditions that eventually caught up with him. When he took his last breath, his sister was holding his hand and singing a song that their mother used to sing to them. David is survived by his father, Sylvan Kornblum, his stepmother Elizabeth (Humes) Kornblum, his sister, Karen Kornblum (partner Paul Andrew Pangaro), his nephews Jacob Kornblum Berntsen and Charles Kornblum Berntsen, his niece Molly Kornblum Zacharias (Robert Kornblum Zacharias) and their children, Ruth Olive and Miriam Eve. David also had many devoted friends, most of whom played folk music with him over the years. May David’s memory be a blessing to everyone who knew him. PJC