Amanda Knox’s Tribute To David Marriott

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The death of PR guru David Marriott of a heart attack at age 74 on April 30 has shocked and saddened the Seattle marcomm community. David was a member of the MARKETING IMMORTALS pantheon and received the Publisher’s Choice Award at THE EVENT in 2013, based on his work in behalf of Amanda Knox and her family. Following is Amanda’s touching tribute to David:

“Life can change in an instant. David Marriott, of all people, understood that. You’ll be plodding along on the humble path you worked so hard to lay out for yourself, and then suddenly something unexpected will spin everything out of control, will take you over and redefine you. It was at one of these moments that David came into my life. From the get-go, my trials in Italy could not be divorced from the media. Character assassination was the primary weapon wielded against me in both courts: the court of law and the court of public opinion. My lawyers, Carlo Dalla Vedova and Luciano Ghirga, fiercely defended me in one arena, and David Marriott fiercely defended me in the other.

“David was a shield, not a sword. He protected my family by managing the hundreds of media inquiries that flooded them over the years. In doing so, he empowered them. Without his help and guidance, my family wouldn’t have been able to juggle their own lives while also saving mine. Without his warmth and care, my family and I would have been swallowed up by the mob, condemned together to undeserved infamy. His service to my family during the most profoundly difficult period of our lives made him a part of our family. And at this other life-changing moment of his passing, my family and I wish to offer ourselves as evidence of his positive influence in the world. He was a man of genuine kindness and strength, and he will be missed by all of us.”                                                                                                                                                  —Amanda Knox

There can be no better obituary than to read the biography that Dave provided upon his induction into the pantheon of MARKETING IMMORTALS in September of 2015, along with his personal Commentary that accompanies the biography.

A funeral mass, followed by a reception, was held on May 14 at St. Anne’s Catholic Church, in Seattle. That will be followed by a 5pm Celebration of Life at Tulas’ Jazz Club in Seattle.
 
Dave will be especially missed by his many friends in the Seattle Chapter of Marketing Communications Executives International, of which he was a founding member. Your comments are encouraged in the space provided below. See also The Seattle Times obituary provided by the family.
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2 COMMENTS

  1. Every year I see Dave Marriott at The Big M Awards, he gives me a big bear hug, and then we laugh it up all evening. It just won’t be the same. I miss you already, Dave Marriott.

  2. David loved life and the above photo is very representative of that. His grasp of complicated issues and simplifying them was his trade. I think what strikes me most about David, was his joy and curiosity that life presented him with and the ease with which he faced them. A truly remarkable person has left us.

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