David Lee Monteith

September 23, 1943, James and Dorothy (Robson) Monteith gave birth to David Lee Monteith in Dayton, Ohio. David was born one of five boys and a twin to his brother Dale. At an early age, Dave's family moved to Detroit and eventually to St Clair Shores, Michigan where he attended Lakeview High School, graduating in 1961. While in high school and college, Dave was employed as a summer greens keeper and caddy at Lake Point Country Club. The "oldies" liked to refer to him as "the kid".

David pursued pharmacy and ultimately graduated from Ferris State College School of Pharmacy in 1966. While in college, he became a member of the Kappa Psi fraternity. After graduation, Dave registered as a Pharmacist with the State of Michigan. Dave practiced pharmacy serving customers with Cunningham Drug Chain in the Detroit area and with Perry Drug Stores out of Pontiac, where he traveled as a Pharmacy Supervisor across Michigan. When Rite Aide Pharmacy later acquired Perry Drugs, Dave returned to work as Pharmacist and Store Manager until his retirement in 2011.

A position with Perry Drugs to open and manage a newly constructed store in Owosso, Michigan afforded Dave and his family the opportunity to move to Chesaning, MI where Mary had been raised. The family built a new home and settled into raising their girls in the Village of Chesaning. In this location, Mary and Dave's daughters, Michele and Melissa, had an incredible opportunity to foster close relationships with their maternal grandparents and nearby family.

While in Michigan, Dave and Mary actively joined the Chesaning Trinity United Methodist Church and engaged in community volunteerism activities related to the Chesaning Showboat and leadership positions at Trinity, including Finance Director and Youth Director. Dave was also a lifelong member of the Masons.

In addition to church, family, and volunteerism, Dave passionately supported life adventures and travel.

Buying into their first time-share vacation property, the family enjoyed initial experiences at Disney World and Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. Trading time for an island timeshare, Mary and Dave became overwhelmed by the natural beauty of the Ste. Maarten. Eventually, they purchased a second timeshare where they were fortunate enough to return for as many as twenty years.

Dave was a supporter of his wife's dreams and business. Dave developed, out of necessity, into a cobbler who installed taps on tap shoes for his wife's dancewear and accessories store, Turning Pointe. It wasn't unusual for him to return home, after long days of filling prescriptions at his pharmacy job, to ten or more pairs of dance shoes which required taps to be applied. Dedicated to the challenge of this arduous task, Dave would often stay up into the night to ensure the dance students' needs were met.

Over time, Dave and Mary developed and enjoyed friendships, summer beach activities, and Fourth of July fireworks in Frankfort, Michigan, on the shores of Lake Michigan. Eventually, their passion for this small town grew to something bigger with a purchase of a quaint cape cod located with easy access to the beach and adorable downtown.

In 2011, a move to Naples, Florida provided new adventures away from the ice and snow of Michigan. Dave and Mary enjoyed over 12 years of beach sunsets while in Naples.

No matter his location, Dave was always dedicated to his favorite sports teams... and his preferred foods. Loyally rooting for the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Lions, Dave and Mary spent many years watching their favorite teams and hoping that this may just be the winning year. Dave's passion for specific teams was much like his preference for specific foods: strong, simple and unwavering. Among his favorite foods, Dave enjoyed his mother-in-law's apple pie, Koegel hot dogs, pork & beans, corn on the cob, cherry pie, ice cream, and his wife Mary's famous pot roast.

During 2019, Dave was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. Under the care of Florida Cancer Specialists (Dr. Ferddy Santiago), he was encouraged to have a stem cell transplant at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, FL under a special team headed by Dr. Shane. The procedure entailed taking up Tampa residence for a month to facilitate daily visits to the hospital. The transplant extended his life and provided us an extra four and a half years with Dave we would not have otherwise had. We will always be incredibly grateful for the time and the extra memories.

Amidst his varying roles and interests, David found exceptional joy in his roles as husband and father to his loving wife, Mary Volkmer Monteith, and daughters, Michele Monteith (Duane Garrett) of Glenview, IL and Melissa Truskowski (Greg Truskowski) of Charlotte, NC. He also displayed kindness and exuberance as "Papa" to his grandchildren Kelsey Littner of Washington DC, her boyfriend of 8 years, Tejas Paruthooli, of New York, NY, Colin Garrett of Chicago, IL, and Landon Garrett of Bloomington, IN. During his life, Dave developed everlasting love for his family, including his brothers: William Monteith (Marge) of Jacksonville, FL, Dennis Monteith (Sandy) of Pittsford, NY, Bruce (Kay) Monteith of Pinehurst, NC, and Dale Monteith of Saline, MI, as well as his brother-in-law, Fordney P. Volkmer of Chesaning, Michigan, many loving nieces, nephews, numerous friends and acquaintances.

Dave was preceded in death by his parents, James and Dorothy Monteith, his mother and father in-law, Fordney Volkmer and Mary DeGeus Volkmer, and his sisters-in-law, Betty (Bill) Monteith and Shirley (Dale) Monteith.

David Lee Monteith passed away Monday, October 16, 2023 at his home in Naples, Florida. Per his wishes, cremation has taken place. A Celebration of Life will be November 15, 2023 at the Village Walk, Village Spot restaurant patio overlooking the water.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in David's name to:

Florida Cancer Specialists Foundation, Naples, FL

https://fcsf.org/ways-to-help/donate/

Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL

https://give.moffitt.org

Your favorite animal welfare organization.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.hodgesfhatnaplesmg.com for the Monteith family.