David D. Blair, a recognized advocate for the disabled, spent much of his career as a national and state leader of Goodwill Industries. As such, Mr. Blair, while serving as executive director of Goodwill of Santa Clara County in the 1950s, got a personal invitation from then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower to attend a Washington meeting on what was then called the National Committee for Employment of the Physically Handicapped. It was the dawning of the computer age, and Mr. Blair had a vision that one day the computer industry would offer a huge new arena for jobs for workers, including the disabled. ''It was his idea to focus on your abilities rather than disabilities,'' said Beverly Blair, his widow.

Mr. Blair died July 15, 2000 at his home in Poway near San Diego, where he had lived for many years. He was 79. Nearly two decades ago, Mr. Blair was diagnosed with an uncommon form of blood cancer known as Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia, Beverly Blair said. The disease attacks red blood cells and leads to anemia, but Mr. Blair continued a lifelong devotion to causes benefiting the disabled, expanding his recent focus to battered and abused children, his wife added. ''His heart was always in rehabilitation,'' she said.

Mr. Blair followed in the career path of his late father, Frederic H. Blair, a onetime Methodist minister who spent 37 years as a director of Goodwill in the Los Angeles area. As a boy of 7 he attended his first national Goodwill conference with his father. Although the Blairs lived much of their lives in Southern California, they had an affection for the San Jose area and kept up with many old friends. Many of those friends recall a man of high intellect, who had a master's degree in social work from the University of Southern California. ''He was a brilliant man whose only problem was that he couldn't communicate well with people because he was so far ahead of them. His mind was working so fast,'' said Anita Arthur, a longtime friend in Capitola. While living in the San Jose area in the 1950s, the family had a home in the Willow Ranch area and belonged to two Methodist congregations. Mr. Blair, who had a passion for agriculture, ran prune, apricot and walnut orchards, his wife said.

San Jose Mercury News, July 28, 2000