David Kain

David Hay Kain, 87, of Cary, NC, formerly of Louisville, KY, Pittsburgh, PA, and Santa Barbara, CA, passed away on August 27, 2025. He leaves behind a legacy of love, kindness, and laughter.

Born on October 3, 1937, in Columbus, OH, David was the beloved middle child of Richard Morgan Kain and Louise Yerkes Kain. He attended The George School and graduated with a BA in Economics from Haverford College in 1959.

While recovering from eye surgery in Chicago as a child, he listened to a baseball series between the Cubs and Cardinals. The Cubs swept, and he became a lifelong fan. A "bad investment," he would say.

Although he had been reared in a Quaker household and could have done alternative service, David served his time in the United States Army.

Afterward, David attended graduate school at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. There, he met the love of his life, Betsy Low, on Thanksgiving Day, 1968. "We hit it off well right away," she remembers. "He was tall, handsome, smart -- and what a thoughtful guy!" They were married on Valentine's Day, 1970, in Newton, MA.

David spent his professional career as an investment strategist at Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh. He contributed to the bank's pioneering use of quantitative investment management, but relished talking about individual stocks. His co-workers called him "Doc."

He was known for his hearty laugh. He was also known for his colorful pants - the louder, the better -- which he would break out for festive occasions. His daughter remembers a garbage collector yelling out to her dad, "Hey man! I like your pants!"

Everyone who knew David remembers him as a welcoming and fun person. He had a talent for being a peacemaker and for meeting people who were in hard times with an upbeat sense of humor.

David could make just about anyone feel better, and he was very supportive of Betsy's work as a psychiatric social worker, and later of her work to help the people of Rwanda. He was a devoted father to Richard and Clare.

He welcomed rescue pets into the family home, and when he drove his daughter and her friends to school, he got the whole car laughing by celebrating anytime they caught four green lights in a row.

David retired and moved with his wife to Santa Barbara in 2001. He became known to the local scrub jays for feeding them peanuts out of his hand every evening from the back patio. His favorite dogs later in life were "Can Can" and Katrina, with whom he would patrol the streets many times a day.

He and Betsy recently moved to Cary, NC, to be closer to their daughter and her family.

David is preceded in death by his niece, Karen Ruth Kain.

He is survived by his wife, Betsy (Low) Kain; his son, Richard Codman Kain, and daughter-in-law, Erica (Kohnke) Kain, of Sewickley, PA, and their daughters, Amelia, Genevieve, and Caroline; and his daughter, Clare Meriwether (Kain) Putnam, and son-in-law, Wayne Putnam, of Garner, NC, and their sons, Ryan and Dillon. In addition, he is survived by his brother, Richard Yerkes Kain; his sister, Constance (Kain) Milner; three nieces: Helen, Susan, and Louise; a nephew, David; cousins; and many friends.

A service for David will be held in the Auditorium of the Glenaire Retirement Community in Cary, NC on Friday, September 12, 2025, at 2pm.

Gifts in his memory may be given to World Dance for Humanity who have continued Betsy and David's work in Rwanda.