Farewell, Dave “K” Konstantin, President of Clairemont

A standing-room-only crowd overflowed the LiveWell senior center in Clairemont on the afternoon of July 1 to commemorate and celebrate the life of Dave “K” Konstantin. The amount of laughter outmatched the number of tears as the gathering heard about a man who had a positive and lasting legacy on the Clairemont Mesa community.

Former California State Assembly representative Lori Saldaña remembered Konstantin as a person with vision and strong ethics focused on improving the character of Clairemont.

Konstantin served two consecutive terms as president of the Clairemont Town Council (1999–2003) and then for six years on the Clairemont Mesa Planning Committee. Konstantin was on the Miramar Community Leaders Forum as well, and had been appointed to the San Diego Airport Advisory Committee twice. At the time of his passing, he was on the SDPD Northern Division Citizens Advisory Board.

He had been honored by San Diego County with a Dave “K” Day — more than once. In 2006, Konstantin founded and operated the monthly Clairemont Community News until its sale to his sister, Janet K. Miller, the paper’s current publisher and editor.

At the age of 56, Konstantin died on June 6, following a protracted illness attributed to mesothelioma, reputedly contracted many years ago from exposure to asbestos while employed in construction. Konstantin was well known in San Diego for K-CO, his family’s construction and remodeling company. Since its establishment in 1995, the company was noted to have worked on almost 1000 area projects. The company has received multiple awards for ethics and neighborhood beautification.

Closing the ceremony, Konstantin’s stepson Chad reminded those gathered of his Dad’s passion for music, especially the blues. Chad said he was able to “live the dream of being a rock star.” Konstantin played drums for the Road Dogs Blues Band and performed at Anthology, the Belly Up, and many other venues. During an 18-month tour, he was the drummer for Texas Blues artist Smokin’ Joe Kubek.