David Avant Jr, a southern historian, died of bone cancer at his home in San Luis Ridge. A genealogist and writer, he was working on three books when he died. He helped locate, document and restore the long-lost Mt Zion Cemetery in Leon County, winning a restoration award from the Tallahassee Historic Preservation Board. In 1998 he was named Genealogical Scholar of the Year by the Florida State Genealogical Society.

From 1976 until his death, he revised his obituary annually, the last revision filling five pages.

Born in Tallahassee, he spent much of his early life in Mt. Pleasant and Quincy. He graduated from Leon High School in 1936 as president of his class. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Florida in 1940, followed by a master's in drama from Cornell University, His thesis, "Staging Requirements of George Bernard Shaw's Plays", included a personal note from the playwright.

He enlisted in the US Army Air Corps and served in Italy during World War II.

He attended the School of Modern Photography in 1946 in New York City, and taught art and stagecraft at FSU for a year. He and his brother George operated L'Avant Studios from 1947 to 1987.

He provided the historical Spanish and Indian names from streets in the San Luis Ridge neighborhood, and served many area organizations.