David Nicholas Sosnowski, 31, died on June 25th, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts. For the last nine years, David had been battling to steer his course out of the tempest of addiction and after many mid-course corrections, lifelines from friends and family, and countless detours and rerouting, he was subsumed by his storm. David was charismatic, witty, and ferociously loving. He was well-known to light up a room. At every point in his own journey, he acted as a willing and capable light to others who struggled in the storm, and many of his friends credit their own progress in recovery to his dogged support.
David was born in Boston, Massachusetts on December 30, 1985 and was raised in New Bedford, Massachusetts, a city that he loved. As a child, he played baseball at Clegg Field, ate countless baskets of French fries from the canteen, and collected a set of friends who brought him joy up to the time of his death. He was also an avid golfer with a swing that nearly matched his considerable swagger. He was a passionate sports fan and particularly loved the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame football and the New England Patriots. David was a 2004 graduate of Tabor Academy, where he played golf and football, loved to dabble in ceramics, and was once appointed the cruise ship director of his Latin class. After graduation he attended Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. He had hoped to continue his education to become a high school teacher or addiction counselor.
David leaves behind a constellation of family and friends who now know a depth of heartbreak he had hoped to keep from them. He was the beloved son of Moira Tierney, of New Bedford, and the late Peter Sosnowski, of South Dartmouth and the grandson of the late Catherine and Peter Sosnowski, of South Dartmouth and Toms River, New Jersey, and the Honorable Rosemary Tierney and the late Judge John Tierney, both of New Bedford. He leaves behind a sister, Sara Jacobsen and her husband John, of Mattapoisett, and the niece and nephews he delighted in, Gabe Jacobsen, Theo Jacobsen, and Ellie Jacobsen. He was the nephew of the late David Sosnowski. He is survived by his great aunts Joanne Warren and Jean Tierney and great uncle Dr. James Tierney, as well as aunts and uncles Sheila Tierney-Curry and Keith Curry, John Tierney and Robert Brichacek, Dr. Matthew Tierney and Patricia Swain-Tierney, and Kara Tierney and Dr. Doug Smink. He also leaves behind eight younger cousins who he had hoped to watch grow, lifelong childhood friends, Seawolf friends, and friends he met in recovery who all became extensions of his family.
In lieu of flowers, his family asks that you make a donation to The Family Restored's Scholarship Fund, an organization that connects families with treatment resources for the addicts they love. His Funeral Mass will be celebrated at Saint Lawrence Church in New Bedford at 11:30 a.m on Tuesday, July 25th, followed by a private burial at Riverside Cemetery in Fairhaven. Visiting hours are omitted. His family invites all who cared for David to the repast and asks that his friends bring any memories or pictures of him that they are willing to share. Arrangements are by Saunders-Dwyer Home for Funerals, 495 Park St., New Bedford. For online condolence book, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com. For more information, please visit https://www.thefamilyrestored.org/davidsosnowski.