David Connor Barr died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 58 on 27 February 2026.

This is a compilation of tributes to Dave followed by a memorial written by his wife, Mo.

Martin McAuslan: The Isle of Arran, circa 1988, a youth project trip on a week-long visit to the island. During this visit, I had many deep conversations with Dave involving spirit, emotional challenges, emerging science, philosophy, and conspiracy theories. You know, the usual conversations with Dave that many people have had with him over the years. However, these conversations were frequently punctuated by Dave sneaking over to the hi-fi, putting on Jimi Hendrix’s rendition of Johnny B. Goode at full blast. The room would erupt into some serious, often close-to-dangerous air guitar. Dave knew how to do many a thing, and he certainly knew how to rock out. That track has belonged to Dave ever since.

Artemis Mo: Dave was a man who made you feel valued and heard, open-minded and a mind that was constantly working. An incredibly intelligent and thoughtful human being as well as being a fantastic musician, no one was an outsider in your company. Not forgetting your dry sense of humour! One of the humblest and kindest people I’ve ever met. Fly high Dave you will never be forgotten.

Kresanna Aigner: The unexpected loss of Dave is so utterly tragic. I cannot imagine your heartache and hope you have some comfort knowing how much he meant to others. He was indeed a kind-hearted, generous human with a sensitive soul. Fly high and free, dear Dave. You are much loved by many.

Jess Abrams: Davey, Little Brother/friend/fellow deviant at Cluny, Your kindness, compassion, sweetness, and generosity shine through, even in the lost moments. You will always be in the hearts of so many of us. I hope you are hanging with Joe McAuslan causing some good trouble wherever you are.

Gwendy Powell: Ah, dearest Dave, can’t quite believe he’s gone. For a long time, he was Shirley’s big brother to me, but the summer of ’88, I spent lots of time with Dave, listening to Led Zeppelin. I think he was spending lots of time in the recording studio. A wonderful, funny, humorous, cheeky man. He will be so missed.

Jennifer Brockbank: I have an abiding memory of Dave that somehow he discovered that I also loved Adam and the Ants. He had the record of Prince Charming, and I remember him inviting me to your caravan to play it and dance around with you guys. To me it was this amazing, mind-blowingly cool experience…. I was seven and he was 14. It says so much about him as a person that even as a 14-year-old, an age where hanging out with little kids is not cool, he didn’t care about that and enjoyed connecting and encouraging me because we liked the same music. Something about those weeks where I stopped by your house and danced around, and the way Dave always treated me as a friend after that, stayed with me as a boost of confidence about making friends with people who are different from me and trusting that I had value to bring. He was a lovely, kind soul who shared his joy with others.

Jackie Buckingham: A wonderful man and one of my favorite people. Deep conversations and belly laughs with him were a staple of my early days at Findhorn. The word authentic gets bandied about a lot, but Dave was completely 100% authentic. When he found his soulmate in Mo, we all celebrated.

Michael Scurfield: I remember having long talks with Dave in the CC at Findhorn. Such a lovely, deep, spiritual and intelligent guy.

Joe, Andrea, and Lily: I loved Dave and cherished all the happy times in his company. Some great, great memories, like jamming with him and Stevie upstairs above the Fontworks office into the wee small hours, or drunken games of pool in the Wellington after work. The samurai sword he kept above his desk, and the late night games of Doom. The gigs we attended and all the laughs we had. His infectious laugh. Oh yes. Happy, carefree times in an environment that felt more like an extended family than an office. Dave and Ann really helped me when I moved to London in ’94, and I’ll be forever grateful.

Simon Pollard: Dave inspired me to look at the world with a different point of view, with the positivity and happiness I needed. I miss his jokes. I will never forget him.

Piers Ticknell: We were lucky enough to have the pleasure of working with Dave for a number of years at Atomic Smash, Dave brought vast waves of knowledge to the business, but more importantly he was just one of those genuinely great characters who you could always rely on. He was kind, caring and incredibly thoughtful. We are deeply saddened to lose a friend and we hope his memory can live on through our community and memories.

Janice Tye: Dave was a longtime member of the WordPress community, who was valued as much for his expertise as his genuine love for his fellow man and his wicked and wry sense of humor. He also gave wonderful hello and goodbye hugs.

Sara Brockbank: Soon after I started working at Findhorn, Dave joined Assets into the FFIT department. I think we both found comfort in the sense of someone to confide in who got us and had our back. Later, I loved shooting scenes for the real Macbeth with him as Macbeth. He had so much fun with the sword, shield, spear, and cloak borrowed from Cameron. Seeing him getting into character and charging at the camera in a fallow field, slightly scary and so much fun. He really brought the film to life and helped make it what it was. He became a good friend and we had many good times together.

Francis McAuslan: Dave was such a one of a kind. We all shared some magical times in those early years. A truly humble and very lovable guy.

Euan Miles: Dave was such a lovely, beautiful soul.

Memorial by Dave’s wife Mo

After a lifetime of asking questions, exploring ideas, wandering continents, making friends, and sometimes finding himself in situations that most people would have avoided, Dave has set off on his next journey. He’s most likely doing what he always did best, exploring, pondering, experimenting and making the place feel a little more like home.

Dave was born in Belfast, raised in Carnoustie and arrived at Findhorn at twelve, with his family, Sandy, Ann and Shirley. He had a complicated relationship with the Community. Being one of the Foundation kids wasn’t exactly a recipe for popularity in the local town or school. Yet alongside the challenges came extraordinary experiences, lifelong friendships and enough misadventures to keep people entertained for years. The people he grew up with became an extended family, united by a shared love of music, an irreverent sense of humour and just enough troublemaking to keep life amusing.

Joining the early FF Youth Programme and then becoming a Foundation member in 1985 was something Dave always remembered with warmth. The experiences and friendships from those years stayed with him throughout his life. No matter where life took him afterwards, Findhorn remained part of who he was.

In 1989 he headed to London with Findhorn friends and later joined Fontworks, working for Ann and her partner Stuart. Fontworks wasn’t just a workplace, it was another community of family, friends, interesting characters, music, laughs and nights out. It was at Fontworks that Dave learned coding and web development despite having started with just a pile of technical manuals and lots of patience.

Music was always a big part of Dave’s life. As part of the musical Barr family, he became an accomplished guitarist who loved improvising and creating his own music. Friends from Fontworks remember late night jam sessions, discussions of philosophy and the occasional conspiracy theory, or ending up in the pub with a game of pool. Dave once told me that he knew his way around London by the location of the pubs, which probably explains why he became so good at pool.

In 1999 Dave packed his backpack and headed off to see the world. He travelled extensively through India, Nepal, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. He also achieved a lifelong goal by completing the Annapurna trek and crossing Thorong La Pass. He had wonderful experiences and was a brilliant storyteller. I happily listened as he described extraordinary people he’d met, bizarre situations he’d somehow found himself in, and the adventures he had.

Back in the UK, Dave went on to make his career in web development which had begun at Fontworks, and led to joining Cricinfo in 2000 and becoming eCommerce Technical Manager during the company’s early years, again making friends who remained close to him for the rest of his life.

He later joined Ann and Stuart at their nature retreat, Boondocks, in South Africa, often roaming in the bush on foot and on his beloved motorbike. He also travelled for some time through Zimbabwe, Botswana and neighbouring countries exploring some of the most beautiful scenery in the world and making friends along the way.

The years that followed were a difficult period in Dave’s life and he struggled to find his way. Eventually he returned to Findhorn, where the support of his sister and many kind souls in the community helped him rebuild his life and get back on track.

Dave joined Findhorn Foundation in 2012 in the IT team. It didn’t take long for those who worked and lived with him at Cluny to appreciate his kindness, gentle humour and legendary talent for piling more food onto a plate than seemed physically possible. It was a happy time, filled with good friends and lasting memories.

It was at Findhorn that we found each other. We became friends almost immediately, and soon we were building a life together. We were meant to be. He always said, “We’re not perfect, but we’re perfect for each other.” Dave continually exceeded my expectations. He was solid, grounded and my safe space. He made me laugh every day, loved my light and my dark, and saw me with a love and acceptance that changed how I saw myself. Being with him was the greatest joy of my life. I feel grateful for the time we did have together. We laughed a lot, travelled, explored new places, pondered the universe and built a life that felt full of love and adventure.

We left Findhorn together for Portugal in 2016, where we spent two wonderful years exploring Lisbon and making it our home before moving to Bristol in 2018.

In Bristol, Dave found connection through the tech community. He moved into full-time web development agency roles with Vatu and later Atomic Smash and became a much-loved member of the WordPress community. He was valued as much for his technical knowledge as for his warmth, humour and the way he put people at ease.

Dave had a likeable mix of qualities. There were so many sides to him: cheeky, warm, a bit of a nutter, entertaining, and up for a laugh. He was generous, thoughtful, occasionally grumpy, always a great listener, excellent company, and completely himself. He could comfortably discuss philosophy, science, spirituality, music, or the mysteries of the universe or just as happily not say a word for hours. As many people have said since he died, Dave made everyone feel welcome and accepted. They felt comfortable in his company and able to be themselves.

Whether people knew him at Findhorn, London, South Africa, Lisbon, Bristol or somewhere along his travels, they remember the same Dave, kind, authentic, curious, funny and original. Someone whose gentle presence made life better.

His friendship left a lasting mark on so many people. I’m not sure he ever realised quite how much he meant to others, but the messages shared since his death have made one thing very clear, Dave was unforgettable, and he will be remembered with enormous affection by those who knew him.

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