David was the eldest of three children, born to Gay and Maurice Carbonneau on July 12, 1961 in Milton. David and his younger sisters, Danielle and Dianne, enjoyed a childhood full of music in Quincy, where Gay and Maurice were music teachers. David likewise cherished and cultivated this passion in his own household, ensuring a steady diet of “good music” for his children.

David attended Oberlin College, earning his bachelor’s in economics and political science. After working as an economic analyst, he pursued a second bachelor’s, in civil engineering, at the Lowell Institute of Technology and graduated first in his class. He worked as a consulting civil engineer for several firms, including Metcalf & Eddy in Wakefield, where he met his future wife. He then became a licensed professional engineer, serving first as the Assistant Town Engineer for Lexington and later as the Town Engineer in Lynnfield. David’s appetite for knowledge was without equal; but so too was his desire to inculcate a love of learning in those around him. After starting a family with Kristine, David decided to become a physics teacher. Following a master’s in education at UMass Boston, he began his career as a teacher in Woburn, before accepting a position in Melrose, where he would spend the remainder of his career.

David was a well-loved teacher at Melrose High School, evidenced by the generous support he received for the brain cancer treatments he undertook in Germany. He taught physics (and, sometimes, chemistry and calculus) from 2008 until 2023, counting many esteemed alumni among his protégées, including his own children. He switched to teaching business in the last two years of his career before retiring in 2025. David loved leading his students—who were often terrified or disinterested in physics (or both)—into the mystique of science, sharing and wondering at the elusive ability to explain the “randomness” of the universe. He enjoyed the wit and humor of his students and invested himself in learning their interests and motivations. He was greatly respected by colleagues, administrators, and parents alike.

David was immensely proud of his two children. He was equally proud to find with age that they had inherited his unwavering skepticism and penchant for curiosity. When his kids went to college, David loved to challenge himself with their problem sets in advanced statistics and computer science, buying obscure textbooks so he could “catch up.” As a man of the arts, as well as the sciences, David also encouraged Madeleine and Luc to develop their musical talents: learning and playing instruments, writing and performing songs, and singing or playing on stage—but also around the kitchen table.

In 2022, David and his wife, Kristine found a modest cottage for their own in Downeast Maine. David especially loved the cottage in Fall 2024 when the Maine woods provided respite from the strain of his ongoing treatments, a place where time stood still and the loudest sound was the wind through the wings of the bald eagle who lived across the cove.