David William Fishman

David William Fishman, 70, of Sun City, Arizona died on Friday, June 19, 2020. He was born June 12, 1950 in Detroit, Michigan to the late Albert E. and Della D. (McGrath) Fishman. After his dad passed, when Dave was only 2, he moved with his mom and older brother (Tom) to Chicago, Illinois to be close to the McGrath family. His mother had a large family of 13 siblings and so he grew up with his cousins and close-knit group of aunts and uncles, who lived in Chicago and Lead, South Dakota.

Dave graduated from Southern Illinois University, where he would go on to have a career in human resources. He worked for several companies, including Montgomery Ward, Keebler (being our favorite), State Street Bank (which moved them to Kansas), United Airlines, YellowFreight, and lastly Saint Luke's Health System where he would retire in 2012.

Dave’s passions were not just his family, but also included sports, motorcycles and his Porsche. He was an avid sports fanatic, especially when it came to his Chicago teams. Baseball was his passion and the Chicago White Sox held a special place in his heart. Once he retired, he joined the Sun City baseball league, where he played first base and catcher. He also volunteered during spring training, as an usher and drove the golf carts which transported fans from the parking lot to the stadium. He enjoyed talking to his passengers about their love for the game, as well.

He also loved to ride his Harley Davidson “Fatboy” motorcycle. He loved cruisin on his bike and had made a couple trips to Sturgis, South Dakota with his biker buddies. He had even claimed he’d get a tattoo someday to prove his “bad boy” biker status.

Lastly, after decades of talking about getting a porsche (literally decades and decades) he finally was able to check it off of his bucket list.

Dave was diagnosed with stage 4 mantle cell lymphoma in 2014 and was able to gain remission twice throughout his battle. He fought to the very end and put up a strong fight. He loved living life, was quick-witted and had a great sense of humor. He was a wonderful family man. To his family, he was better known and proud to be “Papa” to his 6 grandkids. He is survived by his loving wife, Gina; his brother, Tom; his 2 daughters, Lindsay (Will) West and Lauren Cannova and his 6 grandchildren, Peyton, Mia, Rocco and Nash West and Drake and Anthony Cannova.

He will be dearly missed, never forgotten and loved always.

Visitation will be from 10-11 am on Wednesday, July 1st at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church, 14251 Nall Ave., Leawood, Kansas 66223, with Mass to follow at 11 am. Entombment at Resurrection Cemetery, Lenexa, Kansas.