Greenwich native and avid conservationist David Gaillard reportedly died in an avalanche while cross-country skiing in the Rocky Mountains of Montana during the New Years weekend, according to reports.


Gaillard, 44, of Bozeman, Montana, was reportedly skiing in the Hayden Creek drainage, located in the Absaroka Mountains ?just beyond the back northeastern doorstep of Yellowstone National Park,? on Saturday, Dec. 31, when the avalanche occurred, according to reports in the Summit County Citizens Voice and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Gaillard?s wife, Kerry Corcoran Gaillard, was reportedly skiing with him at the time but was not caught in the slide.
As per an obituary posted to a memorial page set up on Facebook, David Lee Gaillard was born May 5, 1967, in Greenwich, to Katharine and William Gaillard, He was the third of four boys in his family.


?His love for the outdoors grew through summers backpacking in the Adirondacks of upper New York State, where as a teen he summited all 46 peaks over 4,000 feet,? the obituary states. ?He was equally at home on the water and taught small boat sailing in Long Island Sound. An avid windsurfer, he delighted when strong winds swept the Sound.?


In addition to his parents and wife, Gaillard is survived by his daughter Marguerite; his wife?s children Sam Brelsford and Silver Brelsford; his brothers Andrew, Thomas and Jeffrey; and Marguerite?s mother Marianne Filloux.
A memorial service will be held outdoors ?on packed snow? at 2 p.m., this Friday, January 6, at Springhill Pavilion in Bozeman. An indoor reception will follow the service.


The family requests that donations in lieu of flowers be made online ?In Memory of David L. Gaillard? at www.defenders.org/dgmemorial, or by check to Defenders of Wildlife, P.O. Box 1336, Bozeman MT 59771. Friends are asked to share memories, celebrations and condolences via FaceBook on a tribute page titled ?Remembering Dave Gaillard.?