When my dad was a teenager, I heard stories about 'Frecks car' that they bought with their crap game winnings.   I heard about how my dad took the car apart, and put it back together. 
I heard about how he survived his time in the army in Labrador, fixing stuff.

He fixed everything in our house. He kept appliances alive for far longer than expected,  and perhaps long than my mom wanted (thinking about that dryer :-). 

My aunt and grandma would always drop off whatever appliance was broken - a hairdryer, a curler, etc. for him to fix. 

He was always under a car tinkering. He kept all of our cars intact. He knew everything about my first Honda civic, even noticing the different hood than the original, although i never openly admitted about the accident I had where i had to replace the hood. 

When Mark and i bought our house, he set up a workbench in the basement - for Mark.  Its on my life's list to clear it off and organize it better. And learn how to fix things.  

My brother Tom calls it 'the knack'.  He got 'the knack' I think, and goes on to fix things and build things himself. Somehow the passion didn't get passed to me, but i always respect those who have 'the knack'.  

My mom has given away many of his workbench tools to places like Habitat for Humanity, and neighbors, and each of us kids.  Hopefully 'the knack' will live on in many of us. :-) 

      Thought of you on your 87th birthday today and still cherish all the great times, trips, and memories we had during our years together.

                                                 Love you always,
                                                               Joan 

Dave and Joan joined us on our boat many times over the years, it was always a great day even if it rained and we cought no fish. I uploaded a great picture we found of Dave and Nicholas taken many years ago. It shows Dave's love so much!
The file was a pdf, I hope it loaded. If not I will re-scan as a jpg. 
Hope all are doing well. 
Grace, Parke and Nicholas 

Ralph Sgamma, Dad's long time friend who worked with him for a few years at EG&G, sent me a Christmas card and was sad to hear of Dad's death.  However, he mentioned that Dad always had a good sense of humor,  smile on his face, and, best of all, Ralph included a saying that he liked and wants to be remembered by.  I think Dad would like to be remembered by the same saying--

      "Don't cry because I'm gone, be happy because I was here and got to
spend part of my life with you." 

                                                              Love always,

                                                               Joan, Bob, Tom, Amy
                                                                and their families
                                                                    

     
     

I was preparing to travel to Pittsburgh, ideally to see my Dad, shortly before he departed.  Since Dad has been gone, life has been seemingly even busier than in previous years.  My wife Mina always commemorates certain numbers of days after a loved one passes.

At least on this day, I would like to say that I still miss my father often.  I think about him when I am working on a project at home, when I wear his cuff links or tie tacks to an occasion, when I hear about one of the important companies he had worked for during his career, and certainly when talking to mom, siblings, or relatives.  I am always glad that I knew him.

I hope that he is at peace and that the struggles he had late in life are no longer a burden to him.

     My thanks go out to all of you who shared your wonderful memories of Dave over the years.  I truly am blessed with everything you wrote and will always treasure your words.


                                 Joan L. 

I grew up with Dave in Manhatten.  My earliest memory of him was somewhere about when we were 14.  We used to play Ping Pong in a small park near where we lived.  At that time I lived on 189st in Manhatten and Dave lived on 187st.  After graduating from GW High School, I went to Oklahoma University.  About two years later my mother and I convinced Dave that he should leave RKO and go to OU. He joined me at OU and he finally graduated from OU. To give you and idea of how expensive it was at OU, we had an off campus apartment.  Rent was $40/mo and the landlady paid all the bills except the phone. 

  In order to save money we putchased 1/2 a cow.  It lasted a long time. Other ways we worked to make money was at the football games at OU.  We sold peanuts in the stands during the game.  Doesn't sound like much, but  we used to NET $20/hour.  Not bad money today, but it paid for our room rent for a month.

   Dave would often come over to my mother's apartment in NYC.  He liked my mothers chocolate chip cookies.

Afer I graduated, I moved to California. Dave and I kept in touch.  Several years back, when I was on the East Coast, I stayed with Dave.  After all the years, it was as if no time had passed.  We even played some Ping Pong again.  Unhappily he beat me, but so is life.

Dave was one of my best and last friends from NYC.  He was one of the ushers at my wedding in 1954.  I will miss Dave.

Stan Goldklang

During one of first visits together to Pittsburgh,  Ann-Marie and I hatched to bright idea to take Dad on a rafting trip down the Youghiogheny River.   As I recall we were in a 8 person raft and Dad was his usual self and was talking and joking with all of the rafters.   This made for a lively day on the river, however it almost placed us in perilous danger.    As we were about to head to over the biggest class 3 rapid on the day's trip,  Dad was at the front end of the raft faced backward and telling jokes.   Ann-Marie and I had to yell at Dad a number of times to finally get him to turn around and paddle before we hit the rapid in the nick of time.   After that the phrase 'Yakity yak don't come back' was our lasting memory from that trip.

I only met my Uncle David, Aunt Joan, and cousins Bobby, Tommy and Amy a few times... it was in the early 70's.. I instantly loved Uncle David. I feel like I came up to his knee caps...he seemed so tall to me. You all came to visit our house in Long Island. I remember having such a blast. I remember going to your house also...I was surprized to see a video that I was briefly in. I don't recall much but the football game was on and Aunt Joan was so into it. 

I absolutely love the paintings that are posted in the gallery. I'm totally impressed. Thanks so much for sharing them. I myself began painting. 
Lots of love to you all.

Sandy Edwards (Lewit)

 

Dave and I had a car together and we went to Lake George and stayed in a small holel by the lake. There was a dude ranch nearby and we went in and the scocial
Director, GRABBED US He said we have to come iin and dance with 75 girls as we have only 3 guys (and they were gay)
Well we were in heaven. David was a great dancer and I was ok but not like David
It was so funny girls standing in line waiting to dance with us.   They gave us beers and food it was so funny and crazy.  It was a dream come true for two guys from NYC.   Well having alot ofgirls is not so good because they were so cute and
pretty you could not meet just two as we had to dance with all.
Nothern happened but we got back to Motel so tired.
Next day we were invited to go rowing in Lake George well we had twio row boats
with 6 girls in each boat all beautiful and we rowed them,all over and we laughed
so hard.   It was so much fun. It was the high light of our weeks vacation
We were two 20 year old Romeo.   Best regards to David I will never forget him 

Joe an Ann and all the family  (he loved my Mother so much &my family}
   

About a year and a half ago in October 2013, I played my final chess match with Dad. He was the better player, but by this time, he had limited resources due to his progressing illness.

I got a headstart early with some fortunate moves.  Dad tried to stay in the game with some defensive moves.   Then he found an oppporunity to get back into the game. We were about even near the end.  But he had a lot of experience, and a knack for survival. He eventually moved a pawn to the last row to get a queen.  He went on to win the game.

Our final game is valid metaphor for my father's life.  I will connect the dots, how it represents more than a chess game:  
-odds stacked against him means he was born a month before the great depression started, with limited means 
-others were more fortunate means he was an office boy at 14, drafted by the army at 19
-perservering through defensive moves means he was financially conservative -finding an opportunity means he used the GI bill to go to college
-earning a queen means he convinced my mom to marry him
-experience and knack for survival means he worked hard to maintain
  continuous employment, including a fruitful 50-year engineering career
-going on to win the game means he had good friends, and became the head of the family he had always wanted

He wasn't the kind of man that would give up, no matter what.  That has been an inspiration to all the members of this clan. I consider that he has won in the end.

When I played farm league baseball as a 4th grader, there was an assistant coach named Dave Brake.  He may have been an umpire , too.  He was around 17 years old, wore a jacket with the collar up and smoked cigarettes.  At Saturday morning practices, my dad would talk to him while I was in the outfield, and later would give him a ride to his house on Bryant or Clay drive.  I asked dad why he gave that guy a ride home sometimes.  He said, "I am trying to get him to straighten out."  I think he was encouraging the guy to go to community college or trade school.  Was there someone who got my father to straighten out?  I bet that there was.  I wish that I had known about that.

I worked with Dave from ~1983 to ~1990. He was my boss and mentor and, most importantly, my friend. Dave was the engineer (lead) for the instrumentation group. We worked together on many projects with him doing the design and the rest of us fabricating and installing. He was a wiz at specifying valves, piping, flow and pressures. One of the projects he helped build still runs today with a most impressive achievement of designing a very high pressure, high flow reduction station.

Dave was a natural teacher; no matter what we worked he was teaching and I was learning. I use those skills to this day.

He was a friend; we often lunched together and he was over for dinner many times at our house. My son grew to love Dave and they called each other “my buddy.”  Going out together for Chinese (picture) was always a special treat for all of us.  We visited with Joan and Dave and grew to know the entire family.

He was a small court athlete. He didn’t look the role but he was deadly on the racquetball court and ping pong table. Even at 16 years my senior he beat me regularly. Standing center court he could place that ball wherever he wanted whereas I was running everywhere but the walls to return the shot. Same at ping pong where I had strength. He still beat me almost every time.

Dave (and Joan too!) are troopers as we had them on our Down East Cruiser, the Angel Grace for a day on the water at Deep Creek lake. This was early fall and it was a horrible day as it was cold, rainy and the fish weren’t biting but Dave made us all smile throughout.

We reviewed all the great pictures here and can relate to many, even the older ones as I heard all the stories. The Freck car gives me special interest as I hobby in old cars and am challenged to identify it. I know it is a mid to late thirties but it is not any of the common brands. This will be my task over the next show season.

I am so glad we were able to attend the funeral; it was moving and gave us all pause in remembrance of Dave. May he rest in the presence of God.

I've known the Lunifelds pretty much all of my life. Amy and I went to elementary school together, and my memories of Mr. Lunifeld are plentiful... The first things that pop into my mind are as follows:

1. Best  sense "of humor any person could ever have. If you ever needed a laugh, he was the man for you. He has the best wit about him and was constantly "on" with his natural goofiness and humor. Funnest Dad to be around...

2. That accent.... I always remember that accent that definitley wasn't the Pittsburgh accent we were used to! 

3. Great Dad. Bob, Tom, and Amy were blessed to have him as a Father....


The Lunifelds are a shining example of a fun, successful, loving family, and Dave was the shining star of that family... may he shine over all of you and may you always feel his love and see his star in the sky....

Susan (McGinnis) Fanto      

To All THe Dave lovers.
\
Dave and I met 70 years ago and always stuck together.  We teamed up playing gin Rommy as partners.   We always won Dave was very lucky and could play good and I was very smart in cardssdo we always won .    Nobody want to play us because we were a team.
I worked in the music biz and going to work one day (we were both 19 years old)
I meet Dave in my building. Could you believe it we BOTH work in the sam bldg'
1270 Ave of the America,  He work for RKO Pictures and Howard Hughs
He a was a Billionare.
Natch we went to lunch whern we could together.  I worked very hard as I was in  charge of sheet music and folio and records

Funny Story:  Dave and I were very competive so Dave was living with me My Mother took him in and he  stayed in his own room
Now is 4 of us  and my parsons  in the house. Dave changled me to a jigsaw  puzzle race.   We both the same puzzle two of them.
Now we go into seperate rooms and see who win finish first. The whole family rooting DAVE WON by one minutes and beat me.  I didnt cry but my familythought we were crazy.   Love Joe and Ann 

Our dad met uncle Joe in the stairwell of the apartment building in Washington Heights around 1942.  Dad had a hard childhood, but thanks to Joe, he had a best friend for life, and Joe's parents that he loved and looked up to. Dad was joe's best man at his wedding. All through our childhood, we grew up with our funny dad and Uncle Joe, pulling quarters out of our ear, and having an Aunt Ann and two more 'cousins', Bruce and Marsha who had an 'uncle Dave'.

Almost every year, my dad and Uncle Joe and our families would get together. In the 90's, this usually involved meeting in Atlantic city, eating lots and dad and Joe playing craps and poker. My mom would do the slot machines with nickels - never the high stakes type. I was lucky to live in New Jersey and could drive down and visit them all for a day.

As they got older, and my kids were young, Joe and Ann would come to my house in NJ when my parents were in town. They'd bring bagels, salads, we'd nosh, they'd play cards and tell bad jokes. I loved it. Joe and Ann came down to Cape May to celebrate my parent's 50th anniversary. It was wonderful.

Our last visit to see Uncle Joe and Aunt Ann at their house in Long Island was Feb 2013. My dad's vascular dementia was in middle stage and he didn't remember Joe's name, but he knew Joe was special and was very happy to be there to visit. Oh, and I think Dad still beat him at rummy. Later on, as my dad's disease progressed, he would start planning for 'the people in New York to come and pick him up to take him'.  It was so hard on my mom when he went into this mode, sometimes putting his coat on, sitting by the door and insisting someone was coming..we could never figure out if he meant Uncle Joe, but we sure missed them together.

In December of 2014, my mom told me how much Joe wanted to see my dad. Joe and Ann were also with many ailments of their own - but we knew this was important and I had to find a way. I ended up convincing his son Bruce to drive them with me to see my dad in mid December, when Bruce was visiting for their 60th anniversary. It was a memorable road trip, filled with new stories of my dad as Joe recalled them. My mom had just moved Dad into a different, better memory facility in Pittsburgh.

When we arrived, my parents were tired and worn. We sat and hugged them, and as Dad was looking at Joe he bent to shake his hand and said "It's good to see you. I've seen you a lot of times."  We were all misty. They had a nice visit, it was the week of the holiday party at dad's new home, and mom felt proud that dad was a bit of a VIP resident, with visitors from New York on such a big anniversary. I think it gave them all some closure to say good bye.

Dad got progressively worse after Joe and Ann's visit, and passed away just 3 weeks later. Joe was able to say goodbye to him via my phone the night he died.

So, friends...if you ever wonder whether I will be your loyal friend for life, just know I've had some pretty amazing role models to follow!

In the spring of 1998, my parents visited from Iran and stayed with me in Albuquerque, NM, for over a month.  David happened to be in town helping Tom with his house renovation for a week or so during that same time.  Tom and I were not dating, but had been friends for almost two years at that point.  We had gone on ski trips with a group of friends, and ran into each other occasionally.

During my parents’ visit, I had to be at work most of the time.  One day, I decided to take them to a Persian movie at the UNM student center to keep them busy. Tom asked if he and his father could join us for the movie and perhaps for some Greek food afterwards.  I am not sure why I thought that was okay, but I agreed.  That was the first time I met my future father in-law. 

The subtitled movie was unfortunately terrible.  I would have been totally embarrassed and flustered, if it hadn’t been for David’s endearing sense of humor that night!!! He maintained all evening that he should be reimbursed for the cost of movie tickets!  He was so good natured that I could not stop laughing and having a good time, despite my difficult task of being the sole Farsi/English interpreter.

After a few days, Tom asked if he and his father could come over to my apartment for dinner after putting in a full day of renovation work at his house.  My mother was happy to find her cooking skills useful again, and she prepared a few strange Persian dishes for dinner.  Tom and David came over and devoured the food with great appreciation for our hospitality.  Again, David eased my concern that the food was too unfamiliar to him. 

My late father was completely amused by the dynamics between the father and son.  The language barrier and cultural differences made the whole evening somewhat hilarious to me!  After Tom and David had a couple beers with their Persian dinner (remember neither my parents nor I drank), they started singing sea chanteys and some other jolly tunes.  My dad’s jaw dropped, but he somehow loved it.  He even wished he could have sung along with them!

Dave kept patting Tom’s head and making some positive gestures about him.  My mom, who knew only a little English, indicated that David was promoting his son… Her exact words translate to something like, “Is he advertising for his son?”  I vehemently dismissed that notion and told her that the language barrier was getting in the way.

It turned out that my mother was right! Tom and I ended up getting married two years later in the spring of 2000, but that wasn’t because of Dave’s superb advertising job!  David’s being, his good nature and genuine feelings conveyed a bigger message about him and his family! He was kind, good hearted, smart, and an embodiment of family values, which made me feel safe to be with Tom.  I feel lucky to be part of David’s family! I will miss him forever….

My dad loved to joke and to make people laugh. Yeah, there were times growing up that didn't involve much laughing, as everyone has, but life was a bit of a comedy in our house. My dad and his best friend, my 'Uncle Joe' were the two funniest guys I knew. 

When I was a kid, our parents liked to go out to restaurants sometimes. We would go to Chin's Polynesian, or the Jade Garden, or wherever. My dad would have this little stunt to embarass my proper, conservative mom...he would take the white dinner napkin, and stuff a corner of it under one of the lenses in his glasses, so it would just basically hang out while he looked around with this goofy look.  Unfortunately for my mom, we all wore glasses - so we kids of course found this hilarious and would follow along with our napkins, until my mother was completely pale. It was a favorite pasttime. Now, I understand completely how she feels. Man, she put up with a lot, but loved him anyway.

I posted a video on this site that I took in 1999 when I gave Dad a digital camera - I 'interviewed' him about his 70th birthday in our kitchen, and it is just classic. It is only a minute, but I've always kept it, because I love how we're all laughing and goofing with each other.

A few months ago last November, on a day that we thought would be the worst ever, we finally moved my dad from home to a memory care facility. Mom and I dreaded it. But as we got there, people were nice and welcoming, and we ate lunch with him. After lunch, there was a presbyterian prayer/song mass, just before Thanksgiving, so we decided, what the heck, we'll check that out (being the flexible catholics we are). I arrived to it a bit late and mom moved to the back and let me sit next to Dad (which was her mistake as she forgot she used to have to separate us in church in order to behave). Partway through a song about an old wood cross, amongst a sea of puffy white haired women that could have been clouds in the sky,  I looked at Dad, he looked at me, and we burst out laughing. We seemed to both be thinking 'did you ever think it would be like this someday?!' and I am glad we both found it funny. Mom was peering over from the back to see what trouble we were causing.  It was all good.

The laughs became less over time, but it was a goal of mine in his final months to do anything for a smile and a laugh.  I will never let go of my sense of humor. It was part of him, it is part of me, and it lives on in my children. :-)

While growing up and spending much of my time "going to Amy's house," I've been blessed to have a closeness with this wonderful family.  Mr. Lunifeld was always a joy to be around!  I can still hear his warm greeting of, "Kat-a-leen-a!"  On later visits, Jack and I looked forward to the best bloody marys we've ever had, carefully crafted by Dave.  Even our son Nathan knew McKenzie Drive as the place to be.  As a young boy, Dave and Nathan would work together on his circuit board toy, then proceed to play a little ping pong.  Requests to return to "Camp Lunifeld" were endless! 


Mr. Lunifeld's special light will always shine brightly in my memories!    

My family is from Holland and when Mr and Mrs Lunifeld decided to go to Holland, Amy asked if her parents could stop by my parents house.   It was a beautiful spring time day and my parents took them to Keukenhof Gardens.  They had only known each other for a few short hours and at the time their only common interest was that their daughters were friends.  Nevertheless there was a street organ that started playing polka music, my mother started tapping her feet, Dave was doing the same.  Before long, they spontaneously started doing the polka in the middle of Keukenhof Gardens, laughing, having a great time and not caring what anyone else thought.  Ever since then they have been friends over years sharing dinners, weddings and more.  My parents and I will miss Dave and hope that he is in heaven doing the polka.

Mr. Lunifeld always made me smile.  I was the "other Amy" until I got the nickname Pogi from him.  He was a wonderful man and very proud to have been a part of his life.  My love and prayers to the Lunifeld family.  Amy (Pogorzelski) Metro