Remembering Dave

Our dear friend, Dave, went home to be with the Lord on Saturday, after a relatively short battle with cancer. These final weeks of his illness, and now his homegoing, have found us thinking back over the 20 years of our friendship and remembering some of the special times we've had together.

We met Dave and Kay in February, 1996, when we visited the church that they were attending. They were warm and friendly and invited us to come to their home that evening to join a group that met there on Sunday nights for Bible study. That was the beginning of an enduring and very special friendship.

The four of us flew to Myrtle Beach for a few days between Christmas and New Years in 1997. Their daughter, Kelli, worked for an airline; so Dave and Kay could fly standby for free; and they were able to get companion tickets for us. For a minimal additional fee, we could fly in the first-class section if there was an opening. There were only two seats available on the first flight to Charlotte, North Carolina; and they were in first class. Dave and Kay let us take those, while they waited for the next available flight.

As we waited in Charlotte for the arrival of our friends, I struck up a conversation with a young woman who was also waiting for someone, and we chatted for quite awhile. When the announcement came over the public address system that a plane was arriving from where we'd last seen Dave and Kay, I turned to the woman next to me and said, "I hope our friends made it on this flight. We were all flying standby and my husband and I got on the first flight."

Imagine my astonishment when she looked at me and said, "Are you Doug and Linda?"

Here, I'd been talking with Kelli, the daughter of our traveling companions, all that time without knowing who she was. She lived in Charlotte, and Dave and Kay had called her to tell her they were coming through the Charlotte airport. She had come to the airport to see them before they went on to Myrtle Beach.

The four of us have been together in our beloved Smoky Mountains several times over the years. In 2000, we rented a cabin together there. During the day, we would go out exploring the national park. For our evening entertainment, Dave had brought four "Star Wars" movies with him: the original trilogy and the first movie of the prequel trilogy. And we watched one every night. 

Dave and Kay at the Lee Roberson Gallery-April, 2000

Dave & Kay and Doug & Linda at the Scenic Train Ride in Bryson City-April, 2000

Dave and Kay at Toms Branch Falls-April, 2000

Dave & Kay at The Sinks-April, 2000

Dave and Kay had previously lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Dave always raved about Mazzio's Pizza in Tulsa. He always said we were going to have to go there for pizza someday. Well, in 2001, we did. We drove nearly 800 miles to get a Mazzio's pizza.

There were no cars at the restaurant that Dave had frequented when he lived there, so we went to another Mazzio's. The pizza didn't live up to Dave's expectations. He was so disappointed and disheartened. The rest of us all thought the food was good, but it just wasn't the way Dave had remembered it. It came close to ruining the trip for him. But a stop in Branson, Missouri, to enjoy some shows there on our way home, went a long way toward making up for the Tulsa disappointment.

The four of us with some other Christian friends at a little bakery in the small town where Doug and I live. This was probably in 2004.

On New Year's Eve, 2004, we all went out to dinner with Kay's sister and brother-in-law, Pat and Wayne. Then we went back to Pat and Wayne's house, where Pat had made a delicious German chocolate cake in celebration of my birthday, which had been the day before. After cake and ice cream, we enjoyed fellowship and card games, ending the evening with prayer for the new year.

At Kay's sister's house on New Year's Eve, 2004

Dave and Kay, after we'd all gone to Zesto for ice cream and then taken a long walk to work off the calories-September, 2005

At their house before going out to eat and to a Philharmonic orchestra concert

Another trip to the Smokies-November, 2008

Gatlinburg Overlook-November, 2008

On Doug's and my 22nd anniversary in 2009, we asked Dave and Kay to go with us to a Spike and the Bulldogs concert at a local outdoor theater. (It's a group that plays the music that was popular during our teen years.) They accepted and invited us over to their house for a cookout before the concert. 

Dave and Kay at Spike and the Bulldogs Concert-August, 2009

 They joined us in the Smokies again in 2011.

Dave & Kay at Roaring Forks Motor Nature Trail

The four of us at the Bud Ogle Cabin on Roaring Forks Motor Nature Trail

At the Greenbrier Restaurant in Gatlinburg

Dave enjoying an afternoon with us at Ouabache State Park-July, 2013

Dave loved music and was a genius with anything technical. He used those talents in service to the Lord, working with sound and lighting in more than one church. And he was always willing to help us out if we had a problem with anything in his area of expertise.

I remember one time, we were having a problem with our stereo system. Dave read our stereo manual while the four of us were playing Euchre. (For those of you not from the Midwest, that's a card game.) Dave never missed a beat during the game; and, when it was done, he knew what was required to get the stereo working better.

As you can imagine, in 20 years of friendship, we've accumulated more memories than can be recounted in one blog post. We're grateful for the memories. And we know we'll meet again. But we're going to miss our friend in the meantime.