David James Rapponotti

Here's to David : father, civil servant engineer, private investigator, self appointed “What-A-Guy Dave” and the only two-year-old in recorded history to evade the U.S. Marine Corps search-and-rescue mission using nothing but sheer stubbornness and the family dog.

David James Rapponotti Sr., age 75, of Barstow, California, passed away on August 6, 2026. He leaves behind his life-long love, Margaret (Knowles) Rapponotti, three children, David Rapponotti Jr., Kathryn (Rapponotti) Pierce, and Jennifer (Rapponotti) Torres; four grandchildren, Amelia (Pierce) Coleman, Jude Torres II, Benjamin Pierce, and Maryn Torres; and two great-grandchildren. He also leaves behind a legacy that can only be described as "give this man a task and stand back."

David's origin story alone should have told everyone what kind of life was coming: born at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia, he decided at the ripe old age of two that regular life was too easy and wandered off into the woods outside base housing, for two full days and nights, with no survival gear, no plan, and no apparent concern that this might inconvenience anyone. The United States Marine Corps, an organization not typically rattled by much, mounted a full search party on horseback to find him. He was located, unharmed, having been kept warm the entire time by the family dog, who frankly deserves an obituary of its own and possibly a medal. David would spend the rest of his life chasing that same high: the thrill of making grown adults very, very nervous.

Naturally, a man who survived the woods via dog-generated body heat grew up to become a Doberman dog lover for life, cycling through several over the decades, all of whom seemed to understand they'd been recruited into a proud family tradition of Keeping David Alive.

He grew up outside of Barstow in a small community called Yermo, and it was there in the Mojave desert that he met and married Margaret, his true compass. They stayed married for over forty years, raising their family in Barstow. David drove the King of Beers semi truck in the local parade during his years as a draft specialist for both Coors and Anheuser-Busch, and he was the kind of friend who showed up to help you move, pull your engine, or dig your pool, without being asked twice. He loved to hunt and took his family camping and fishing for many summers. He loved cold draft beer, thick steaks, 60s rock ‘n’ roll, and all things Italian mobster: movies, culture, and clothes, although he wore Levi’s 501 jeans nearly every day

Professionally, David split his time between civil service engineer, designing the sort of infrastructure that keeps society from falling apart and his private investigation business, presumably tracking down other people's lost two-year-olds, or at least people considerably easier to locate than toddler David had been. He brought the same quiet, methodical persistence to both: the kind of man who read blueprints and surveillance reports with equal patience and never once got lost in the woods again, as far as anyone knows.

In his personal time, David collected firearms and drove Corvettes with the seriousness of a man who only trusted good craftsmanship. He made regular pilgrimages to Las Vegas to play the slots, where getting lost was, for once, actually part of the plan.

That explorers instinct never fully retired, either. Decades later, while attending his son-in-law's Army retirement ceremony, at Camp David, of all places, the man born on a Marine base wandered off yet again. This time it took a Navy corpsman, not a mounted patrol, to round him up and return him safely to the guest area. No horses required. Some things, apparently, never change.

He is survived by his family, an impressive gun safe, and a small legion of Marines who, seventy-some years later, hopefully told their families the story about the time they searched a forest on horseback for a toddler and found him warm, dry, and completely unbothered.

Rest easy, David. You gave the horses and eventually, the Navy, quite a workout. He will be interred at Miller Jones Mortuary & Crematory in Murrieta, California on 26 August 2026.