The David Sliff Memorial Foundation

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The David Sliff Memorial Foundation provides academic scholarships to financially struggling students helping them achieve their academic goals and supports research for mental illness, specially depression, which can lead to su***de.

01/02/2026

My dearest David,

As we end 2025 and start a new year, I am reminded of how quickly time passes, especially as I get older. What once felt like waiting forever, like when we were little kids excited for Christmas morning to open presents, time comes and goes so fast it makes your head spin. I find myself wanting time to just stand still and cherish more moments with friends and family.

It’s hard to believe 8 years have passed since I last saw you. You would be 31 now. I still think of you as curious, alive, and brilliant with a mind far beyond your 23 years. When I write to you every year, I want you to know we are all still well and carry a part of you in our hearts.

Let’s get you caught up but first, tell grandma hi for us and that we all love her. She celebrated her 94th in heaven and it was our first Thanksgiving, Christmas and now New Year’s without her. Please tell your dad and uncle Rod hello as well.

Sam is 11, continues to sleeps on your bed and is still the best boy ever! Tom and I are still honeymooning, and you would be so proud of both Mike and Morgan as they continue to help improve the lives of others. Your cousins keep having kids and your stepsiblings added another making a 4th grandchild for Tom this year. Overall, the world remains a bit dysfunctional and in 3 years I hope to have better news for you, but in the meantime, it is still made up of people who do more good than not.

This year included my retirement and I’m still adjusting. After 30 years of the intensity and urgency that comes from working in an ICU, I’m getting used to quieter surroundings without alarms and no longer doing all the things we did that normal people don’t want to hear about. I have learned that not everything deserves my attention and energy and it is important to stay with what is meaningful.

When you were still with us, evolving technologies seemed manageable. Now updates to new systems appear before people fully adapt to the last ones…change does not pause. For many of us, the pace has outgrown what we are humanly able to absorb and it feels like the world is updating itself faster than people can catch their breath. I often think you would have understood it quickly, you always did. You were brilliant at learning and you would have found your own way through it, filtering out what didn’t matter and holding onto what did. The things that have not changed still move at a human pace and include love, grief, kindness and connection.

David, when you left, you took with you every word I never said. As your mom, I am in awe of how deeply you changed me and thankful for every moment we shared. I carry everything I should have said and everything I still feel, tucked away in a place in my heart that belongs only to you. You are still with me in the way I see the world and love. I carry you forward, not as someone frozen in time but as someone who continues to belong and evolve in my life as it unfolds.

I miss you every day and love you always. Until next year my beautiful boy,

Love Mom

12/31/2024

December 31, 2024

Dear David,

You left this world seven years ago today. That also makes 7 years of lighting a Yahrzeit candle to honor your memory. While the candle will stay lit for 24 hours, the flame in my heart for you burns with every breath I take. It will never go out. Good thing I bought a case of them because you get a candle every year.

Not much has changed since your birthday update 6 weeks ago. Grandma is slowing down but she manages to get out with Jocelyn every so often. They took you flowers today.

While many parts of the world are struggling, there are good people who continue to spread their light to help others find joy and happiness. They are the real heroes who give love and positivity to others in spite of the negative forces that continue to challenge us as we go through our daily lives. It’s great being around people like that and when I am, I try to learn from them or at least have their positive outlook rub off on me, especially on days like today where I am not really feeling much joy or happiness.

Tom and I have a canvas wall hanging of an adorable goldfish, that we have affectionately named “Guppy.” Guppy has a big ominous shark’s fin strapped over his little dorsal fin and he appears to be treading water, with the caption above reading “Mindset Is Everything.” We love Guppy and I know you would have as well.

As I get older, I find myself caring much less about the “things” of life and so much more about the people who I hold dear to my heart. You of course were one of the dearest and I would have given my life if it meant you could have had a second chance at living and finding your way. As it is, I am forever grateful for the 23 years I was your mom. Even if you are no longer with us in human form, you are still with us in our daily walk with the grief that we carry in our hearts every day. Author Sascha wrote:

“As long as I can I will look at this world for both of us. As long as I can I will laugh with the birds, I will sing to the flowers, I will pray to the stars, for both of us.”

Another favorite is by Vicki Harrison:

“Grief is like the ocean. It comes on waves ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn to swim.”

The last one about learning to swim in our grief is especially true. The grief is always there, like the ocean, but the waves come and go and somedays they are crashing 10 footers and other days, calm and peaceful.

With so much love my dear,
Love Mom

Hi friends and family, I will be participating again this year, along with Tom and many others, in the American Foundati...
08/10/2024

Hi friends and family, I will be participating again this year, along with Tom and many others, in the American Foundation for Su***de Prevention walk, at the Santa Monica Pier, Saturday October 19th.

Please click on the link to join our team, In Memory of David and if you can, donate to this very important cause that helps to find effective treatments for depression that can lead to su***de.

https://supporting.afsp.org/team/342361

I work for Providence Little Company of Mary in Torrance, a faith-based hospital. We have reflections that are sent to ...
05/12/2024

I work for Providence Little Company of Mary in Torrance, a faith-based hospital. We have reflections that are sent to all caregivers in our ministry. This one is especially poignant for Mother's Day and every day, and I wanted to share it with you. I think this touches just about everyone not just women.

12/31/2023

12/31/23
My Dearest David,

Six years have gone by pretty quickly but it feels like I’ve been missing you for so much longer. Last night your 6th Yahrzeit candle was lit in your memory. The candle burns for up to 24 hours. It started at 8pm on 12/30 and will burn until after 8p tonight. And did you notice your date this year? 123123.

This special candle symbolizes the human soul in that flames must breathe, change, grow, strive against the darkness and ultimately, fade away. It is a reminder of the precious fragility of life and that life must be embraced and cherished. I have always been grateful for how much I cherish my children and the special bond you and I had and the ones you had with Morgan and Mike. That gift of love and closeness helps us as we continue along the journey of living without you. Your precious, bright, warm flame went out way too early.

Given all the crazy events of the world, I deeply miss the uncanny way you had of suggesting another and usually more logical, perspective on things. This is one of the many things I loved and still love about you since I continue to take your wisdom along in my life’s journey. You believed in people, even the ones who were mean to you because you were gay. You were brilliant, kind, gentle and humble and saw no color or had prejudice. You stood up for the injustices of others and helped me see outside my bubble. You were an anomaly during your time.

So, this latest war going on with Israel and Hamas is super sensitive on many levels, even involving some of our large Ivy League universities with continued antisemitism being revealed on levels you never would have suspected. It continues to remind me of the social unrest of several years ago that brought to a higher level, long overdue awareness of so many marginalized groups who needed to be, and still need to be heard. We have a long way to go. While what’s coming out with the antisemitism also shows terrible injustice, it has revealed the true colors of certain people’s beliefs and only until that is made known, can change be started. Ukraine still needs help and so many countries are misbehaving in such large-scale ways that at times, it’s downright scary.

David, I’m so proud of your foundation. To date, 16 students from varied backgrounds and career goals, have been supported with generous scholarships to help them achieve their academic goals, in addition to helping with tuition, books, and food insecurity. You have also supported several organizations that are true “boots on the ground” mental health organizations that provide tangible help to others.

We missed you for Christmas at Morgan and Christian’s new home not too far from the house. M & C hosted and cooked the most amazing dinner and we all had a lovely evening along with grandma who braved going up stairs once again. Mike had several close friends over and we had 4 dogs! Harvey is M & C’s latest addition to the family and 6 months, Shiloh is Mike’s perfect dog, Sam is now 9 ½ and Mike’s friend Caroline had Nova.

I thought of you a lot during the evening, as I do every day, wondering what you would be doing, your looks, and your friends. Where would you be living and would you still be driving your Prius. Did I ever tell you that we found one of the missing spoons under the seat of your car?

David, I promise you that I will do my best to live, love and laugh and enjoy time with family and friends who knew and loved you. Tom and I are still honeymooning, and your sister, Christian and Mike are the best and hardest working people I know. We all love and miss you. Looking forward to catching you up next year.

All my love, Mom

03/17/2023

Hi Friends,

On March 8, 2023, we were honored to present our foundation to Hermosa Friends Foundation, along with 11 other amazing, hardworking charities. This was for an opportunity for one of the charities to be awarded a grant in order to help provide additional support for their charitable cause. Here is our presentation for the David Sliff Memorial Foundation:

02/01/2021

The David Sliff Memorial Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) corporation which was started in 2019. It is organized and operated exclusively for charitable purposes which includes providing financial scholarships for struggling students in order to help them realize their academic goals.

Scholarships have been awarded since 2019 along with donations to SMC's food bank for students who are also dealing with food insecurity.

David was passionate about his education. He was determined to be academically successful and transfer to a university to continue his study in physics and pursue his interests towards becoming a research scientist with an emphasis on the biophysical workings of the brain.

David's foundation also continues to support mental health research towards finding effective treatments for mental illnesses, specifically depression, which can lead to su***de.

When David was in his early 20's and attending SMC, he started suffering from a severe depression. After realizing he had a brain abnormality, David tried every resource available to him which included researching antidepressant medication, strict diet and supplements that promised to boost his brain wellness, clinical trials and brain/sleep studies. David lost his battle on December 31, 2017.

David's greatest gift was his capacity to love and try to help others. Being the highly sensitive soul that he was, he felt the pain of others and continued to give of himself through his remarkable ability to listen and provide wise counsel far beyond his years.

This foundation is a way to honor this fine young man, son, brother, grandson and friend in hopes of continuing his legacy of providing tangible help in ways that make a difference and leave an imprint on the hearts and minds of others.

Address

854 Bard Street
Hermosa Beach, CA
90254

Telephone

+13108950335

Website

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