August 1st was a sad day when we said good-bye to David (Dave) at Vancouver General Hospital. Dave was taken off life support after suffering an unexpected and fatal brain aneurysm at work. Dave will be dearly missed by his family: his loving wife Lori, daughter Chelsey, son Zachary, mother Molly, brother Brian, sisters Donna (Wes), Sherry (Brian), and Tanya, nieces, nephews and many other family members and friends. Dave was predeceased by his father John in 2014. Dave was born and grew up in Houston, BC. He graduated from Houston Secondary and worked at Equity Silver Mines for a short time. After brief stints driving a gravel truck and then a logging truck both ended up in the ditch, he headed to BCIT where he earned his Instrumentation Technician degree. He began his career with Domtar (formerly Weyerhaeuser) working first in Kitimat, then Squamish and finally Kamloops. Dave loved Kamloops and built his life there with his wife, children and dogs.
Dave was a big, strong, athletic guy. He once won Equity Mine’s contest of being the only one able to lift a gold bar with one hand! He excelled in sports, playing volleyball and basketball competitively in school and later, softball and golf. He especially loved downhill skiing at Sun Peaks with his son, Zachary. A man of many talents, Dave enjoyed gardening and grew a variety of fruit trees as well as vegetables in his back yard, which he was very proud of. He was an accomplished carpenter, renovating and remodeling his house –always having a project on the go. He showed through example that “hard work always pays off.”
Dave had a big personality, voice and smile, and his presence commanded a room. He was funny and smart, with a great memory and was knowledgeable on a wide diversity of topics. At work he was part of the union executive, a captain of the Emergency Response Team and member of the social club. He was loved and respected by his colleagues, his many friends and especially his family. He lived the words of Muhammed Ali: “Don’t count the days, make the days count.” We love and miss him every day! Rest in Peace Dave!
