A memorial service is scheduled for Saturday to remember the life of a longtime East Chapel Hill High School principal who recently died.

Dave Thaden began his career in Chapel Hill – Carrboro City Schools as an English teacher at Guy B. Phillips Junior High School after graduating from the University of Michigan in 1979.

He went on to serve in various roles before taking over as the inaugural principal for East Chapel Hill High School when it opened in 1996. He remained at East Chapel Hill High through the graduating class of 2009.

“David nurtured East from its initial enrollment of 605 students into a perennial top-100 high school nationally with a student body that eventually exceeded 1,800,” according to Thaden’s obituary. “His passion for developing and empowering his talented teaching staff fostered an ideal learning environment and established an institution beloved by teachers, parents and students alike.”

Thaden went on to teach at the North Carolina School of Science and Math from 2010 through 2018 following his retirement from CHCCS.

Thaden died on May 10 from multiple myeloma. He was 62.

Donations in Thaden’s honor can be made to the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church or The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.

A memorial service will be held on June 8 at the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 227 E Rosemary St, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, at 11:00am, with a visitation to follow.

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