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David Heard, an Abu Dhabi pioneering oil engineer and author who has been contributing to the capital’s petroleum industry and history since 1963, died at a hospital in Munich on Friday, after losing his battle to cancer.
The Briton will be buried in Wales in the coming days, and his family is planning to hold a memorial service in his honour in Abu Dhabi upon their return.
Born in 1939, Heard was passionate about exploration, adventure and literature. He continued to enthusiastically share his knowledge and expertise till the last two weeks of his life. On October 9, he presented his latest publication ‘Oil at Last’ – the sixth book released in a series he kicked off in 2011 titled ‘From Pearls to Oil’, to an audience of over 50 people in Munich, including the UAE Consul in Germany.
“The event was held at a big bookshop in the centre of Munich; David was still able to speak, and he shared many interesting stories, and commented with much humour on selected photos (from his journey) that were posted on the walls,” said his wife Frauke Heard-Bey.
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“It was quite an important event and he was able to do it (energetically), but ten days later the cancer had overtaken him, and he died on Friday.
During the 61 years that he spent in the capital, Heard enjoyed spending his time touring the emirates’ deserts, seas and cultural functions. When asked where he favoured spending most of his time, she said: "certainly not in the city - in the desert.”
When Heard-Bey joined her husband in the UAE in 1967, she said there were sand dunes right behind their compound.
“We used to have a dog, and on a Friday, we would take the dog for a run in the desert.”
The last time they went for a desert trip in Abu Dhabi was in 2023. Heard was an adventurer at heart and continued to practice his passion for the outdoors all his life.
“We participated and integrated a lot with what Abu Dhabi offers. We went to the sea a lot; we had one of the first little speedboats that were imported to Abu Dhabi, which we took cruising around the island frequently. And we did a lot of hiking between Abu Dhabi and Oman.”
More recently, she said they enjoyed attending cultural functions at New York University Abu Dhabi and visiting the country’s modern developments.
When Heard arrived in Abu Dhabi in 1963 to work as a petroleum engineer for Abu Dhabi Petroleum Company, "it was his first job straight from university and he stayed with them until he retired; we spent most of our lives here."
The couple continued to consider Abu Dhabi their home throughout the years and Heard-Bey said she will return to stay at their home in Al Bateen after the burial.
Even after her husband was struck with cancer, she said they would have preferred to receive the treatment in Abu Dhabi, “but the cancer he had was very unique and not commonly treated, so we were advised to go to Munich where they are more specialised in treating it; but even they could not treat it.”
During the last 20 years of his life, Heard spent most of his time writing his books. An established historian from Germany who served for several years at the National Archive of Abu Dhabi, Heard-Bey followed her husband’s literary work closely, providing assistance when possible.
While the pair visited several destinations across the world, including South Africa, Chile, Germany, Finland and Norway, she said Heard recently voiced his regrets for not having the time to see more of Europe and Britain. She said apart from visiting their families in the summer, they did not do a lot of exploration travel during their first three decades here.
When asked to describe her deceased husband’s best qualities, she said: “His loyalty, and that he was just wonderful. He was a person of not many words, but when he said something, it always had meaning.”
“I will miss him altogether and all the time; he did not want to give-up, he was fighting and optimistic till the end,” she added tearfully.
She recalled an incident during his last book presentation earlier this month, when he turned to his publisher and said: ‘I got a surprise for you; my next book, much of it is already on my computer’; “so maybe this best describes his spirit,” she said.
Heard is survived by his daughters Miriam and Theresa, and his son son Nicolas.
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