Kirby Pines Retirement Community | The Pinecone

Carol pursued several different research projects evaluating consumer behavior. One such project included seat belt research in the 1970’s for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Her presentation for this significant study was reported on the front page of The New York Times. She also worked on improving the measurement of TV viewing habits and was the inventor and patent holder of a new compliance monitoring/incentive system that provided a pager-type feedback instrument for use with a new electronic recording device. While in Washington, Carol also was intimately involved in aiding Time Life Books and Music in the creation of new products. Meanwhile, David worked on various research and computer projects with NASA and the military, eventually managing other consultants as the work required. Projects involved remote sensing, climate change, ozone measurements and various military requirements. While pursuing various scientific initiatives, David intermittently honed his thespian skills. When in grade school, his mother noted his natural ability to project his voice to the back of the roomwhenever he performed in school plays. She insisted he have voice lessons to enhance his natural talent. He continued these studies throughout high school, and, much later, at the Shakespeare Theatre in D.C. A move to a new job for Carol at Union Camp, a paper company, took the couple to Norfolk, VA, not knowing that Union Camp would be acquired by International Paper Back in Tennessee, the couple moved to Germantown. Carol worked at IP and later at a company that supported national Medicare projects, covering such areas as CKD (chronic kidney disease). David pursued multiple opportunities in both science (adjunct professor at Memphis University) and performance (reading the news at WYPL and acting at the Germantown Community Theater). They became involved in the local Arts community through multiple activities including serving as a host family for visiting artists with the Iris Orchestra. Both have participated in numerous Theater in the Pines performances over the years and David recently agreed to be a co-producer for You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown which will play in November. Carol attends exercise classes in the PAC and belongs to the Book Baggers, as well as a Book Club outside Kirby. David and Carol were married in 1966 and began their interest in travel when they participated in Swami Vishnu Devananda’s Yoga Camps in Canada and in the Bahamas. Then, there were trips to Russia, Thailand, Morocco, Peru, Costa Rica, Mexico and Japan as well as several European cities. During the Covid lock-down, David and Carol shared their Japanese travel experience in a slide presentation to the Kirby community. Traveling has taken a back seat as they have gotten older. However, their life at Kirby continues to be productive and they both remain active and involved. Written by Leora Elli, Resident, Kirby Pines The Pinecone | October 2026 • 7 • Carol andDavid have beenKirby residents since July 2019. Their decision to move to Kirby stemmed primarily due to the absence of any close relatives and the existence of LifeCare within the complex. They are a dynamic couple with multiple artistic interests and extensive professional experience in business and science. Both are enthusiastic readers. Carol was born in Chicago. At age six, her family moved to Coral Gables, Florida where her father soon owned and operated a small electronic plating company. She graduated from Coral Gables High School and left forWellesley College inMassachusetts where she majored in Economics. While at a summer school class at Harvard, she met David, a techie, at a mixer and they arranged for a first date at the Museum of Science and Industry in Boston. After graduation, she moved to Chicago to work at The Quaker Oats Company and obtained her Masters of Business Administration (MBA) degree at the University of Chicago. She later joined a major advertising firm working on consumer products and began an extensive career in marketing and consumer research. David was born in Langley Field, Virginia as the oldest of three children. His father became an American Airline pilot and the family moved to Whitehaven, Tennessee. There, he attended the Whitehaven school through the eighth grade. In 1953, the family was transferred to Tulsa, Oklahoma where he graduated from high school, but visited his grandparents every Christmas and summer. Yes, he met Elvis. On one visit Bob Neal, Memphis’s most popular disc jockey, introduced him to Elvis and David was invited to go to the Overton Park concert, Elvis’ first, but he was scheduled to leave for Tulsa. He attended Tulsa University before going to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a major in Physics. After graduation, David worked at various companies in the Boston area such as Ion Physics Corporation. He later moved to Chicago where he first worked at Becker Brokerage and wrote a daily commodity newsletter. He also was a runner one summer at the Mercantile Exchange. While in Chicago, he completed both a Master of Science (MS) and a PhD at the University of Chicago’s Fermi Institute. After obtaining his PhD, David joined Computer Sciences in the Washington D.C. area and David and Carol moved from Chicago to Falls Church, Virginia. Both ended up sharing their skills as “Beltway Consultants,” while working and moving around the D.C. beltway. A DYNAMIC DUO OF CREATIVITY Resident Spotlight: David & Carol Stowell Wedding Day 1966