David Thistle Van Covern

David T. Van Covern, age 87, of The Woodlands, Texas, passed away on January 27, 2019. David was born November 27, 1931, in Brooklyn, New York, to Virginia Thistle Van Covern and Fred Van Covern. He lived his early life in Bronxville, New York, and graduated from the Bronxville High School in 1949. He attended the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts, and graduated in 1953 with a B.S. degree in civil engineering. David began his business career with the Esso Standard Oil Co. in New Jersey in 1953 and served in the U.S. Army in 1955 and 1956. He then enrolled at Columbia University in New York City and obtained a Master’s Degree in Business Administration in 1958. At Columbia, he was elected a member of the national business honorary fraternity, Beta Gamma Sigma. He then returned to Esso Standard (later Exxon Mobil) and worked in New York, Houston, and Charlotte, N.C., until 1975. He purchased the Carolina Industrial Equipment Inc. in Charlotte, retiring in 1998. CIE is a distributor of several types of industrial equipment and during his tenure the company grew in size to cover all of North and South Carolina and portions of Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia. CIE became one of the largest distributors of Cushman industrial Dealers Council for several years. He loved the outdoors and was an avid gardener and landscaper throughout most of his life. Since 1998, he has been a resident of The Woodlands, Texas, and a member of The Woodlands United Methodist Church, where he was active in the Society of St. Stephen and the Gathering Place ministries. He developed many friendships as a greeter on Sunday mornings.

David is survived by his wife, Sandra Dunn Van Covern; son, David T. Van Covern, and wife, Wynne Ellen, of Waynesboro, VA; daughters, Deborah Murray of Belton, TX; and, Julie Van Covern, of Charlotte, NC; step-sons, Richard M. Cowart and wife, Julie, of Chattanooga, TN, and, John M. Cowart and wife, Paula, of Montgomery, TX; four grandchildren, two step-grandchildren, three great grandchildren and two step-great grandchildren.

Services will be held in the Robb Chapel at The Woodlands United Methodist Church, 2200 Lake Woodlands Drive on Saturday, February 2, at 11:00 a.m. Visitation will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. at the church.

In lieu of flowers, please make donation to Shriner’s Hospital for Children-Houston, 6977 Main St., Houston 77030; The Woodlands United Methodist Church, Society of St. Stephen, 2200 Lake Woodlands Drive, The Woodlands 77380; or your favorite charity.