David McNabb Canning was born in Toronto on October 15 1946 to Everard and Dorothy of Orillia.

In his youth David was an avid swimmer, skier and outdoorsman. He was a counsellor for the Medeba Bible Camp and undertook life and rescue training.
Dave attended ODCVI and graduated with a commerical/business diploma.

He started his career off in the financial sector working in North Bay and Sudbury.
Later he shifted his career focus and joined the ministry of health and became a residential counseller at the Huronia Regional Centre in Orillia in 1967. Later moving to London, Ontario Dave began working for the Shelbourne Joinery Workshop. By 1982 David returned to the HRC were he stayed until his retirement in 2004. 

In 1992 Dave met Lyla and her three daughters (Kimberly, Laura and Marianne) and life was never the same for any of them again. Dave quickly became amalgated into the family. He shared the joys of birthdays, graduations, marriages and births as well as sorrowful times.

Dave loved golfing, walking, reading, skiing, water sports, scrabble, spending time with "the boys" and going for a long drive.

Dave posessed a quiet calm that equalized stressful situations. His dry sense of humour was always well timed and often inappropriately hilarious.