David Michael Mandell also known in his military name as Anthony David Murillo, left this earth peacefully to a better place on July 11, 2025. He died of natural causes at the age of 94.

David was born in Huston Texas in 1930 to mother Sarah Solomon and father Rafael Murillo. 

David had two siblings. His brother Nathan Murillo is deceased. He is survived by his dear sister Eva Schmidler. He is also survived by his two sons Hyman Aaron Mandell and Joseph Nathan Mandell. The third son Gary passed away of cancer at the age of 33 in 1998. 

David was in the Air Force. He met his wife Rose at a dance and they married in 1959. In 1962 the Murillos legally changed their name to a Jewish name, “Mandell” 

Thirteen years later they divorced in 1972. He then transferred his work from San Diego to Fremont, California in the 1970s where he was a radar technician for the FAA. He retired early at the age of 55 when he was told you can stay and get more training or leave with full benefits. I imagined he smiled and took the early retirement. 

David had a beautiful partner, Marian “Patsy” Bennett. They met at a dance because David was a terrific dancer. They were members of E Clampus Vitus (ECV) and traveled here and abroad. Although they never married, they were together till her death in 2020. 

David had many talents and as a musician he loved to perform in front of an audience especially the harmonica. He played for people everywhere, since he always carried a harp in his shirt pocket; In a restaurant he would ask the server, “What song do want to hear? Or, does anyone have a birthday, I will play them HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”

He also had harmonica students, all seniors, known as the “Sweet Harps” and they all performed at various retirement homes, parades and more. David’s harmonica collection contains well over 100 harmonicas. 

David was a brilliant chess player and an accomplished piano player thanks to his mother. However, David’s most physical hobby was table tennis. Most commonly called “ping pong” he played competitively and has the trophies to prove it. Nobody knew David had glaucoma but at the age of 80 he was still beating people. 

David was an avid, dedicated, atheist who wrote letters to the editor of the Argus paper in Fremont. Many religious people disagreed and despised David for his non-beliefs. However, he won an award by the American Atheists, in 2002 for best letters to the editor. He took those letters and quotations from people including his brother Nathan and published his only book. The book is called, “Atheist Acrimonious.” 

Finally, David had a gifted sense of humor and made people laugh. Whenever he would end a conversation he would say, “Well, as they say in China, adios.”

You can donate to David’s favorite charity The American Atheists, non-profit organization.