David William Lukas

David William Lukas was born on Jan 12, 1947, in Detroit, Michigan to George & Mary Lukas. David had 3 siblings, Carol, Mike and Tom. David is survived by his loving wife, Brianne, his children, Angela & Zack White, and grandchildren, Zander and Amaia along with Carol (sister), and Tom (brother). David is preceded in death by his parents, George & Mary Lukas and younger brother, Mike, who died when he was 27 years old.

David had plans to attend college after high school but was drafted to serve during the Vietnam war because he was busy surfing after High School that he missed the deadline to file the exemption paperwork. Thus in April 1967, at the age of 20 after completing boot camp, David landed in Vietnam as an Army Ranger Specialist, assigned to the First Infantry Division, 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regimen (Recon Platoon). Five months after landing in Vietnam, on Sept 13, 1967, his unit was ambushed and David sustained gunshot wounds and subsequently received a Purple Heart medal for his bravery. After spending almost 2 years in the hospital recovering from his wounds, he was Honorably discharged from the US Army. David received many military distinctions and medals during his short military career, the National Defense Service Medal, Sharpshooter Badge, Combat Infantryman Badge, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal W/1 Bronze Service Star, Army Good Conduct Medal, Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross With Palm Unit Citation Badge, Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor medal, and First Class Unit Citation.

After being Honorably discharged from the US Army, David embarked on many career paths and found mortgage banking to be the most rewarding and also gave him the flexibility to go surfing. He was very successful in this industry and worked until he was 65 yrs old when he was diagnosed with CLL (Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia), a type of cancer caused by exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam. In 1986, while working in the mortgage industry, he met the love of his life, Brianne. They were both working at Coast Federal Bank but did not start dating until 1990. They got married in Maui in June 1994. Maui is one of David’s most favorite windsurfing spots. David founded his own mortgage company, Warrison Group and transferred all partnership to his friend Alex Martinez once he has decided to retired and focus on his health in 2012. He also started Real Resource LLC with his friend Jay Wexler.

In life, David loved the outdoors and was very athletic. He was an avid surfer, windsurfer, hiker, road-bike and mountain-bike biking. One of his many and greater passion was surfing. His father George introduced him to surfing from the age of 11 until last December 2021 at nearly 75 years old. He taught his stepdaughter, Angela, to surf when she was 11 years old. He made countless surfing trip far South of Mexico with Cameron Aldrich, Lane Harrison, Craig Klein, Leonard Siprut, Mark Johnson, Steve Antti and countless windsurfing trips to San Carlos, Mexico, and Maui with his buddies, Barry Ault, Drew Bandish, John Belik, James Hardy, Jim Keener, Jim McGee, Phillip Schmidt and Dave Flowers.

David rode his road bike almost every weekend with his biking buddies, Neil Lacey, Chris Shingle, Greg & Chris Stavros, James O’Neil, Warren Becker, Andy Demeyer, Carl Walter, Augustine Albarran, Brian Farris and Rick Geist to name a few. They rode from Pt. Loma to Oceanside and frequently stopped at Seaside Market for quick snacks, Pt. Loma to Mt. Laguna through Kitchen Creek, or Pt. Loma all the way to Borrego Deserts and back on the same day. David once rode 200 miles in 2 days to raise funds for EOD (Explosive Ordinance Disposal) event. This was done after he had already been diagnosed with CLL. In the last few years of his life, he enjoyed mountain biking and introduced it to his wife and a few of his friends, Sheldon & Joyce Glady, Chuck & Tess Paquette, Billy Lane, Drew Bandish, Jesse Quinsaat, Robert Ricasa, Leonard Siprut.

In addition to biking, David was also passionate about hiking. He went on camping/hiking trips with his friends, Billy Lane, Mike White, Larry Crispell and the late Tom Thompson. He once hiked rim-to-rim at Grand Canyon with his brothers in-law, Ron Henry and Grant Gaertner, where they spent the night at the bottom of the canyon. He enjoyed snow skiing and made many trips with his wife, family members, and friends. David was always ready for an adventure and enjoyed traveling. He and Brianne traveled the world together and the final and greatest trip was when he went on a river cruise through Europe and explored Prague in 2019.

David had a very quick sense of humor and laughed heartily, open-mouthed, belly laugh that rang joy. He was a prankster and loved to play jokes on friends and family . He was very kind and generous. He would give his shirt off his back if one needed it. A few months before his passing, David gave all his surf boards and gear down to the younger surfers that have been surfing with him at Sunset Cliffs.

Also, in the last 4.5 years, David was Padrino to Leonard Siprut’s beautiful twins, Leny & Ely. He helped and took care of these children from the time they were born; from bottles feedings, burping them after they ate, to changing diapers and rocked them to sleep before he went home, the roll that he took on very seriously. He equipped them, bought their bikes and safety gears and taught them how to ride, first, the push bikes when they were 2 years old, then into regular bikes. This past Christmas, not only he bought each a paddle bike, he also bought 2 scooters for each because one wasn’t enough, then taught them how to ride as well. Several times a week, we’d found David either at the parks, at the college’s playgrounds or behind our alleys, teaching and running after his Godchildren. David took care of these kids just as his own. He was so proud of them and was extremely emotional when he couldn’t play with them during the last week of his life.

David loved and lived life on his terms to the end. When he felt that his time was near, he chose to stay at home to be with his wife and in his elements. On March 22, 2022, at 10:30AM, David went peacefully home to the Lord, he was anointed at the very last moments by Father John Amsberry and in the loving embrace of his wife and his two best friends, Billy Lane and Sally Ault.

God bless you and Rest In Peace to my loving husband David.

A visitation will occur Monday, April 18, 2022 from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM at Merkley-Mitchell Mortuary, 3655 5th Ave, San Diego, CA 92103. In the morning there will be coffee and pastries, and a light lunch will be available to friends and family attending.

A funeral service for David will be held Monday, April 18, 2022 from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM at Saint Charles Borromeo, 2802 Cadiz St, San Diego, CA 92110. After the Mass everyone is welcomed to attend the reception where a dinner will be served.

A graveside service will occur Thursday, April 21, 2022 from 1:30 PM to 2:00 PM at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, 1801 Cabrillo Memorial Drive, San Diego, CA 92106. Surfer’s paddle out will be on Sunday April 24, 2022 at 1pm (low tides). Meeting location will be at the parking lot near South of Garbage. All family members and friends are invited.

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