We just now found out that Dave is no longer with us. We are shocked and saddened by this news. Sometimes you think about calling an old friend and you don’t because you think you have all the time in the world. Then it turns out you don’t.  Dave was Such a good person and at one time a close friend. We have Cathy on our minds because their relationship was for years and they were so close.  Cathy please give Clarence a call. We don’t have a working number for you. 
You’re in our thoughts, heart and prayers. Love always,
Clarence & Claudia

Cathy (Wife)

When we were living in Minnesota, we lost one of our dogs, Annie. We were both deeply heartbroken. We have gone through that experience eight times. It always felt like a punch in our stomach,  Each one was a different experience, each dog was different, but all of their deaths were gut wrenching. 
This is just one of the thoughtful things that David had done for me over the years. His love really showed through on this one.
David, being the sweetheart he was, came home to surprise me with a little Golden Retriever puppy dressed in a dress. She was so adorable, I started crying. He then handed me a card from Audrey, the new puppy. It said:

"An Angel named Annie came to me one night and asked if I would go to live with her family that she had loved and taken care of for a long time, but she had to leave them. She asked me to take care of them like she did. She asked if I would wait for my new family's anniversary to make it extra special. She said I would be happy to, but now that I had a new family, I couldn't wait to meet them. I was so excited, so my new daddy picked me up, I liked him immediately! He let me snuggle with him and he was really nice. I couldn't wait to meet my new mommy. I hoped she would like me too. My daddy said she would love me!"

That was one of the most extra special things that David had ever done for me. After giving me the card, I just lost it. I couldn't stop crying. It was such a loving thing for him to do. When he handed me that card, it was just so special. My new puppy talking to me on behalf of our Angel Annie, I cried harder I ever had. I don't believe that there is anyone that could match David's caring, thoughtfulness, and love, he did it all for me. 
Dave, I see you every day and wish you were still here with me. I miss you so much and I always will. I will always love you! You are with me every second of every day!
You are the best person I have ever known.

I'll always remember Uncle David stopping by grandma and grandpa's house, always smiling, always making us laugh with one of his stories. Every time he came into the room, it would just light up with his presence. I was always so happy to see him every time I came to visit, that smile was so contagious. He was such a joy to be around, and I truly miss him.

Cathy Smith (wife)

David, you know when I exactly knew I was in love with you?

I was 18 and you were 19. We worked at Paradyne, third shift. I was at work and you were in Puerto Rico on business. You called during my shift and wanted to speak to me. I was so excited that you called for me. That was exactly when I knew I was in love with you.

Thanks for the call! Love you forever!!


Dave had been the best brother in law that I could have had. The first time that I went canoeing with Dave and Cathy, we were cruising down the river at a good pace. I came around a corner and there was Dave and Cathy in the water with their canoe upside down. They were trying to get all their belongings together. It cracked me up. Just one experience that I'll never forget.

In the 80s, I met Cathy and David... fell in love with this cute couple. Always enjoyed their company. Always stayed in touch with them throughout the years. David fixing my car in the last few years, saving me money and I could trust him. There was always laughter when I was around them. I am blessed to have known David and I will continue to support Cathy in whatever she needs. My heart is broken, but we must go on. I will see you again my dear friend, this I am sure. I can still see your smile in my mind, always in my heart.

Virginia Smith (Mother)

David was always interested in motors and cars. Our cat had a litter of kittens when Dave was very young, holding one, he ran to me and exclaimed, "Mommy, Mommy, this one's got a motor in it!" His description of the cat purring.

He was always excited to drive a car, at about 5 years old, he got into our 1957 Studebaker coupe and somehow was able to put it in neutral and it rolled down the driveway backwards across the street and was stopped by a tree in the neighbor's yard. He was probably prompted by his 2 older brothers, but he seemed very proud of his driving skills.

He told this one on himself. He was restoring an old Dodge Charger. The floorboard was mostly gone. He had it at work and was proudly showing his coworkers how powerful it was. He cranked it up to "smoke em" and nearly asphyxiated himself in the process. They all had a big laugh on that one.

Cathy S (Wife)

We were so proud to reach our 20th anniversary. It takes a lot to stay married as long as we have. Anyway, I packed a couple of bags and told Dave to trust me.

We went to breakfast, then headed to Orlando. Wouldn't you know it, on the way, the radio station we were listening to started reading a letter from someone named Cathy to someone named Dave. To say the least, he was surprised. He still had no idea where we were going. I spoke with the DJ.

Finally, we reached Discovery Cove. I would have to say this was one of our best anniversaries.

We had a great day. We drank, ate, lounged in the sun, swam with the sting rays and of course the dolphins. I had prearranged the entire day. I also prearranged for a dolphin to bring David a buoy to celebrate our 20th anniversary.

On the buoy, was written:
"Thank you for twenty wonderful years. I can't imagine life without you. I love you with all my heart and soul. I look forward to being with you for the next twenty years. Thank you for loving me."

Well, Dave, we didn't make it to the next twenty years, but we sure came close.

I love you, David!

Dave and I started working together at exactly the same time. In fact, we sat next to each other during our very first "personality" test and joked around from the very beginning. I will miss laughing with him.

I was lucky enough to take care of David when he was a baby. He was the sweetest, cutest, little kid there ever was. He said his name was Daywood so that's what I always called him. Never heard a harsh word about anyone from him. He was just a kind and happy man. He will be missed.

What can I say about David Duck? Well... we always greeted each other with a "quack." To me, he was my nephew and friend. He was such a sweet little boy, a handsome and caring young man, really a prince of a man. We will cherish his memory always and I will forever see that smile in my mind. Rest in peace, little quacker, and I'll see you on the other side.

Cathy S (wife)

We were out one night playing in the mud.  I had a bit to drink and was a little tipsy.  Well, I got into the Mud Princess and took off.  I got stuck in the mud and couldn’t get out.  Dave came over to see what was going on and what I needed to do. He went behind the truck to check it out.  Well, me being tipsy, I forgot he was behind me and I hit the gas to try to get out again.  I covered him from head to toe in mud.  The best I can say is he wasn’t very happy with me.  He was so mad that his lip was quivering.  He eventually forgave me.


Lori O (sister)

David..my baby brother.  So sweet and dependable.  Like a rock, always strong, always looking on the bright side!

The last time I saw David was at our parents house.  Dave and I were sitting in the living room and I asked him how things were going.  Dave replied he had never been as happy in his life as he was then.

I was so happy for him.  I felt such comfort in his words that night.  I loved him very much and wanted him to be happy.  David so deserved to feel happiness.
He was the Godfather to my son Evan.  Evan said he felt David was a great father figure to him.  He was simply the best.

All I can say is that wherever a beautiful soul has been, there is a trail of beautiful memories.  He is one beautiful soul.

I miss and love you brother.  God rest your soul.

Forever love, Sis


I met Dave and Cathy back in 90’s through a mutual friend who met Cathy while she was driving her pink and white truck.  This was all prior to cell phones, we all had CB radios during that time.  Well, we all got together one night to take our trucks out to the mud.  That one night turned into a life long friendship.
We were out playing, the first time we had met and the steering broke on their truck, well, me being who I am couldn’t resist but to say something.  Cathy wasn’t very happy and even more so, with my comment (she drove a Ford and I’m a Toyota man).  She had a few choice words for me which I can’t say here but I’m sure you can guess.  From that point on, we were always out in the mud together, a lot of good fun.  We never went out if we weren’t together.
In no time, they had me going on adventures that I hadn’t experienced before, they were always doing or going somewhere such as canoeing, camping, etc….and I started doing those things with them.  We spent a lot of time together over the years.
Dave was such a good person, such a great person and I will never forget him.  He had been a true friend from start to finish.  I’m extremely saddened to see him go.  My life has been changed because of him.


Cathy S (wife)

Dave, I hope you’re safe, happy and no longer in pain.  Me?  Since you left me, I have missed your more than you could imagine.  Dave without you, it’s just tearing me up.  I have never hurt as bad as I have since you left.  It’s devastating.  I have lost the love of my life.

Remember when we met?  We were teenagers, just kids and fell in love instantly.  We both knew where we were going.  I cherish the love we had and our marriage.  I am honored that you chose me to be your wife.
We were simply meant to be together.

I promise you that you will always be in my heart.  Nothing could ever change that.  We had loved each other unconditionally for 38 years.  You were my one true love and you will always be with me.  There will never be another love like ours.  I thank you for everything in my life.  I cannot wait until we are together again.  Please watch over me and I’ll try my best to make you proud.

My dear David, I hope you know how much you meant to me and how much I loved you.

I will see you soon!


One of my fondest memories is that when I moved into the house across the street from Dave and Cathy I remember meeting him and we shared a common frustration with the amount of raccoons that seemed to get into our trash every night no matter how many bungee cords or cinder blocks we used to hold down the lids.  We soon had a gentlemen’s challenge to see how many of the varmints we could eradicate.  Dave would call me almost every other night with a raccoon spotting and we would chase them around our yards and have a beer after talking about how we almost had them.  One particular night Dave called me and said the dogs scared one up a tree between our houses.  So we met in the dark with our beers and Dave said it was up in the tree I told him I couldn’t see it and he pulled a night vision scope out of his pocket with this mischievous grin on his faces.  I had a shotgun with me at the time and he said that is too loud use my .22 rifle.  This rifle was a youth kid’s rifle that was so small it was hard to hold.  So I shot at the raccoon and it jump around on a few branches and then was perfectly still.  We just looked at each other with a dumbfounded look and he said well we can’t just leave it in the tree.  So I decided I was going to climb the tree with this youth rifle and push it down out of the tree.  So up I went about 20 feet up when I notice it was still alive so I got the bright idea to shoot it again from the tree.  I aimed with one hand and the other with a death grip on the tree.  I shot from just under the raccoon wedged in the crook of the branch all while Dave was down below watching me through this night vision scope.  I will never forget hearing him giggle the entire time.  Seconds after the shot I felt a warm liquid falling from the raccoon what was attempting to run higher up the tree.  I was so certain that I hit it and I knew this was blood I felt raining down on me from above as I tried, the racoon rapidly descended the tree. When I reached the bottom Dave was bent over almost in tears.  I thought for a moment something had happened and he was hurt because he was trying to tell me something but it wouldn’t come out right.  He finally said you just got pee’d on by the raccoon.  I looked at myself expecting to see blood but …well it wasn’t blood.  I just got pee’d on by a raccoon.  We stood there laughing together for what felt like eternity.  He never really let me forget about that either, for months every time we would be together he would stop, sniff and say “you smell like raccoon pee”.
It was moments like this that we seemed to share often.  I have so many fond memories that it makes me smile just thinking back on them.  Dave will always be with me for the rest of my life and I look forward to sharing more moments laughing together someday.


For those of you that I haven’t yet had the pleasure of meeting I am Justin Nickels.  Dave or (Super Dave) as I called him has been a father figure and mentor to me for almost the last 20 years.  Dave was a huge part of my young adult life and without the guidance of him and Cathy I would not be where I am today.  I will do my very best to make him proud and keep this light and funny. Dave was a good and gracious man, someone who would stop at a moment’s notice to help a complete stranger.  Dave was one of the hardest working men I have ever met as well.  It was these lessons of selflessness and hard work that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.  One of Super Dave’s best qualities is his innate ability to make people laugh, He shares a special spot in my heart as he is one of only a couple people that I have ever met that has been able to make me laugh so hard I actually puked.  


I was honored to work with Dave and get to know him over the last 5+ years.  His attention to detail and ability to remain calm made him a fantastic role model for our entire team!

Rest in piece Dave!

OBITUARY

David Henry Smith

June 10, 1960 – September 24, 2019

Serenity Funeral Home

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