Obituary can be found on Facebook
very sudden and unexpected in his sleep.
Ness is a great lady. I hope she has friends and family near for comfort.
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Yes she is!
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I always enjoyed talking to Dave. And eating his cooking.
Ness’s words…
In case you don’t know me, I am Vanessa, Dave’s wife of 38 years, though we were actually together for 40 years. I would like to celebrate some of the wonderful, endearing, and quirky qualities of my husband Dave with you.
To start with, David was a unique person, a “character”, you might say: friendly, outgoing, funny, and very talkative. As our son said, “He could talk to anybody who had a moment to listen.” He would strike up conversations with people in line at the grocery store, at the deli, at the gas pumps, or in almost any setting. He said the reasons he talked to strangers, or hung out with the mechanics at Donny’s Sunoco garage, was because he “didn’t have a social life”, and that was because he had “worked 2nd shift all his life”. His other reason for talking to everyone was that “it doesn’t cost anything to be friendly”. That said, he was well known and on good terms with the men and women on our street within dog walking distance. He said hello to everyone and asked people how their day was going. He was the poster child for making friends on the block.
Being a talkative guy who could actually out-talk his very talkative wife (me), Dave also loved to tell stories. Boy, did he like to tell stories…over and over … and over again. I used to complain, “I heard this story 10 times!” His response was to either ignore me, or calmly comment, “And you’ll probably hear it another 10 times.” Our son put it a better way when he said his dad was “Master of telling a story multiple times, like it was the first time you’d hear it.” My husband’s joy in telling a story was that he had an audience – any audience – even if it was the same audience.
Dave was big-hearted and enjoyed giving of himself. He was a talented cook and baker, and liked to bake Polish cheesecakes and peanut butter cookies just for fun, to give away to people. He shared these tasty desserts with the neighbors and my coworkers. He excelled at making chili, barbecued ribs or chicken smoked on the grill, and homemade meatballs and spaghetti. He would often prepare and share some of these hearty meals with friends and neighbors. When we were canoeing and camping with others, Dave often made generous meals to share with others, such as Greek salads, garlic-butter shrimp, bacon-egg-cheese breakfast sandwiches, and more. For our 25th anniversary, he proudly made roast beef on weck, rigatoni with sauce, and antipasto salad for 50 people at canoe rendezvous. For him, it was the pleasure of serving others that gave him pure joy.
He was also giving of his time. He would help family, friends or neighbors if they needed a hand, if he was capable. He especially loved to wash, wax, and clean the insides of cars! He would often clean the cars of people who were visiting me. He also fixed a chainsaw for a friend (more than once); he helped another friend take down trees and clear shrubs; he fixed a friend’s washer; he washed my mother’s house windows, and much more. It made him happy to be useful and to be able to help others.
Dave and I had a good relationship. One friend said to me, “I always admired you guys and your relationship and love for each other.” There was definitely a lot of love between us, even if we didn’t show Public Displays of Affection and other lovey-dovey stuff. Let’s be realistic, no relationship is perfect, and we had our ups and downs. We were always together, doing things, supporting each other…. That was the bottom line. BUT. Those who know me and Dave, know that we are talkative, loud, AND we also argued… a lot. But those people also know that 5 minutes after we squabbled, the matter about which we bickered was over and forgotten. We didn’t hold grudges. It was silly little stuff we argued about, and usually we agreed on the bigger and important life matters. For example, packing for a camping trip, we might disagree over what food to bring, and an argument would quickly progress to: “…And I never want to go camping with you again!” After some steam was let off, we would go back to normal decibel levels, and continue packing as if nothing had happened. It was almost comical…. note I said ALMOST… when we were arguing. I think our secret to marriage longevity was basically to forgive and forget.
Dave was also very proud of all the things we did together. We enjoyed many canoe trips, camping trips, trips to the Renaissance Festival, and other adventures…and I mean adventures…. (Remind me to tell you about the “Honeymoon from Hell” road trip sometime!)… throughout our marriage.
One of Dave’s most endearing qualities was his love of animals. He was kind to all our cats, dogs, birds, hamsters, and even our son’s snake (and I have a story about the time the snake escaped for you later – just ask me!) – that we have cared for over the years. He was especially fond of the dogs, from our first dog Nick, to our current dog Harley Pete, and especially our son’s dog Otis. They all idolized Dave. Maybe this was because he would give them the last bite of almost any dog-safe food he was eating, or because he would take them through the McDonald’s drive through to buy them their own cheeseburgers! Or it could have been because he walked them around the block between midnight and 2 AM, which is a really good time for sniffing and spying nocturnal critters. Possibly it was also because he let them sit on his lap, or he rubbed their tummies, or just spoke to them kindly. He was a true friend to animals.
I could go on, and you know I could, because many of you have heard my “Dave stories” over the years…. but that’s for another time!
We are all going to miss Dave. But here’s what I want to leave you with: Let’s remember Dave not only for his friendliness and humor and funny charms, but for the good things he did, and the good examples he set in his life.
He was, indeed, a very good man. Everyone loved him.
I love him still.
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Thanks for posting, Andy. I hadn’t heard, wasn’t in close touch with Dave or Ness, but well remember Dave from Raystown days. I agree with Ness’ words, I met him and liked him immediately. He was a unique character I am glad to have known him.
Sounds very shallow but my condolences, and that’s very sad news. I camped in Ness and Daves yard about 10 years back, heading their way for a Primus concert. When my buddy and I showed up, they had a barbecue going and we immediately hit it off like we were old friends. Dave, being a machinist, my bud one as well, and me an inspector, well we had a lot to talk about, and being in loud shops all our lives, loud voices just came naturally. We talked paddling as well of course, brought Topher into the conversation as I visited Topher and Tana a year before, heading to yet another Primus concert, and Dave and Ness’s friend Manon was a great person as well, showing us the trailhead to a fun walk along the Niagara river. Great people, sad that Dave is gone, but that crew lives in my heart and memories forever.
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